ROBERT POLLARD Waved Out 1998

by request

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Michael Sutton

One of the things that made Guided by Voices' rise from underground curios to indie superstars in the early '90s so noteworthy was that vocalist/guitarist Robert Pollard was also a teacher, an uncommon occupation for rock & roll idols. Pollard was born on October 31, 1957, in Dayton, Ohio. As a child, he was groomed by his father to become a professional athlete, and pitched a no-hitter for his high-school baseball team, but in college he realized that music meant more to him than sports. Pollard formed Guided by Voices in Dayton in 1983 while working part-time at an elementary school. Also consisting of Paul Comstock (guitar/piano), Mitch Mitchell (bass), and Eric Payton (drums), Guided by Voices released their first EP, Forever Since Breakfast, in 1986. Pollard's love for British Invasion records, as well as an admiration for progressive rock and R.E.M.'s murky jangle, sculpted the band's early LPs, all of which Pollard, his brother, and the group's manager financed by requesting a loan from the Dayton Public Schools Credit Union.

Although Pollard remained at the helm, Guided by Voices had a continuously changing lineup in the '80s and '90s. A firm believer in the artistic qualities of lo-fi production, Pollard also had an ear for accessible albeit quirky pop, and when both sides converged on 1994's Bee Thousand, many critics began to chant his name. On Bee Thousand, Pollard's songwriting finally reached its potential, and the band's initial post-punk experimentation was toned down for hook-laden college rock such as "I Am a Scientist." The group was suddenly thrust into the mainstream, appearing briefly on MTV and acquiring the kind of glowing accolades from corporate magazines often given to established alternative bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana.

Pollard quit his teaching job, and the group performed on the Lollapalooza tour. A year later, Guided by Voices recorded 60 tunes in a 24-track studio; however, Pollard wasn't pleased with the results. At first uncomfortable with the songs' "hi-fi" sound, Pollard returned to the studio to finish the album, recording much of Under the Bushes Under the Stars in two days. In 1996, following Pollard's decision to fire the other members of Guided by Voices and replace them with members of the group Cobra Verde, he released his solo debut, Not in My Airforce, and as GbV became increasingly popular, Pollard began using his solo releases as a platform for his more esoteric musical ideas.

In 2004, Pollard announced he was retiring Guided by Voices and relaunching himself as a solo artist. Signing with Merge Records, Pollard released his first post-GbV album, From a Compound Eye, in early 2006, and a second album, Normal Happiness, appeared a few months later. By the end of 2007, Pollard parted ways with Merge and formed his own label, Guided by Voices Inc., which soon spawned offshoot imprints such as Prom Is Coming Records, Record Company Records, Fading Captain Records, and Rockathon Records, allowing him to release as much new music as he pleased. Between the near constant flow of solo material and his collaborations with the Keane Brothers, Circus Devils, Boston Spaceships, and other ad hoc bands, Pollard released 14 albums, ten singles, and four EPs from 2008 to 2010, more than many of his peers would release in their entire careers. In 2010, Pollard got back in touch with his inner jock when he scored 4,192, a documentary about legendary Cincinnati Reds hitter Pete Rose; earlier that same year, Pollard was inducted into the Northridge High School Hall of Fame for his teenage skills on the diamond, and as Pollard told a reporter, "You could make a lot of money on a bar bet: 'One of these two men is in a baseball hall of fame. Can you guess who?'"

In 2010, Pollard surprised many by reuniting the "classic lineup" of Guided by Voices -- Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Greg Demos, and Kevin Fennell -- for a handful of live shows. As the concerts quickly became sellouts, Guided by Voices added more dates, and in 2012 GbV confirmed their reunion was semi-permanent when they cut a new album, Let's Go Eat the Factory, released by Pollard's GbV Inc. label. Three more GbV albums appeared within the space of 12 months -- Class Clown Spots a UFO, The Bears for Lunch, and English Little League -- while the band played occasional live shows and Pollard remained furiously prolific as a solo artist, releasing two solo albums a year in 2011 and 2012.

In the fall of 2013, the "classic lineup" of Guided by Voices splintered when drummer Kevin Fennell was either fired (according to Pollard) or resigned (according to Fennell) after a bizarre incident in which Fennell unsuccessfully attempted to sell his drum kit online for $55,000. While fans waited on the group's future, they had plenty to keep them occupied: in December 2013, Pollard released another solo set, Blazing Gentlemen, in which he claimed to be experimenting with more traditional songwriting techniques, while in the months that followed he scheduled another solo single, two LPs with the Circus Devils (When Machines Attack and My Mind Has Seen the White Trick), and yet another GbV album, Motivational Jumpsuit, with Kevin March on drums. In September 2014, months after the release of GbV's Cool Planet, Guided by Voices unexpectedly announced they were canceling all tour dates as the band had once again broken up, but that did little to slow down the notoriously prolific Pollard; he launched yet another ad hoc group, Ricked Wicky, with the February 2015 album I Sell the Circus, and May 2015 saw the release of a Pollard solo set, Faulty Superheroes. 

 

Tracklist

1	Make Use	3:16
2	Vibrations In The Woods	1:06
3	Just Say The Words	3:00
4	Subspace Biographies	2:58
5	Caught Waves Again	1:52
6	Waved Out	1:15
7	Whiskey Ships	2:00
8	Wrinkled Ghost	1:57
9	Artificial Light	1:03
10	People Are Leaving	2:37
11	Steeple Of Knives	2:13
12	Rumbling Joker	2:53
13	Showbiz Opera Walrus	2:34
14	Pick Seeds From My Skull	1:08
15	Second Step Next Language	4:35

 

THE ROSEHIPS Soul Veronique In Parchment 1994

by request

indie rock

Discogs 

 Tracklist 

1	Ragdoll
2	Kingery Highway
3	It's Not Worth Fighting
4	Some Autumn Gray
5	Sister St. Car
6	Who Do You Love?
7	Feels So Lonely
8	Pray For Our Souls
9	Gorgeous Nowhere
10	Come Tumbling Down
11	Fish & The Cat

GIRLS AGAINST BOYS Cruise Yourself 1994

Thanks to Jim

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Tucked-In	4:17
2	Cruise Your New Baby Fly Self	3:11
3	Kill The Sexplayer	3:16
4	(I) Don't Got A Place	3:43
5	Psychic Know-How	3:41
6	Explicitly Yours	4:59
7	From Now On	4:15
8	Raindrop	3:13
9	The Royal Lowdown	2:41
10	My Martini	3:41
11	Glazed-Eye	4:02

THE HEART THROBS Jubilee Twist 1992

thanks to Jim

Discogs

 

 

The Heart Throbs Biography by AllMusic

Formed by Rose Carlotti (b. Rosemarie DeFreitas, 16 December 1963, Barbados; guitar, vocals) and Stephen Ward (b. 19 April 1963, Chelmsford, Essex, England; guitar, vocals) from an idea conceived at college in Birmingham and developed in Reading in 1986, when Rose’s sister, Rachael (b. 25 May 1966, Oxfordshire, England; bass, vocals), and Mark Side (b. 24 June 1969, Oxfordshire, England; drums) completed the line-up. Within a year the Heart Throbs had made inroads towards infamy, supporting the Jesus And Mary Chain on tour and releasing ‘Bang’ in a controversial ‘car crash’ record sleeve. Further publicity followed at the close of the decade when the band started up their own Profumo label, named after the political sex scandal that shocked Britain in the early 60s, and which prompted tastefully ‘saucy’ pictures of singer Rose posing as the notorious Christine Keeler had done 20 years earlier (added to which one of the main scandal protagonists shared the same name as guitarist Ward). In spite of these tactics and several waves of acclaim for their harshly bittersweet pop songs, commercial success remained out of reach. A contract with the One Little Indian Records label in the UK coincided with the band signing to Elektra Records in the USA. Now joined by guitarist Alan Barclay (b. 4 April 1968, Singapore), they achieved moderate success on both sides of the Atlantic with the long-awaited debut album Cleopatra Grip, which included the superb ‘Dreamtime’; the band embarked on a tense tour towards the end of 1990 which resulted in the departures of both bass player Rachael Carlotti and drummer Mark Side.

 

 

 

Tracklist

1	Tiny Feet	4:59
2	Winter Came Too Soon	4:38
3	Hooligan	3:58
4	Outside	3:47
5	The Girl Became The Stairs	4:07
6	So Far	5:10
7	Bright Green Day	5:06
8	Too Late	3:38
9	Tuna	3:00
10	Gone	4:29
11	Tiny Feet (Reprise)	2:18

INSPIRAL CARPETS Devil Hopping 1994

by request

 

Discogs

Tracklist 

1	I Want You	3:09
2	Party In The Sky	3:51
3	Plutoman	4:14
4	Uniform	3:54
5	Lovegroove	3:17
6	Just Wednesday	3:43
7	Saturn 5	3:59
8	All Of This And More	3:32
9	The Way The Light Falls	4:54
10	Half Way There	3:50
11	Cobra	2:13
12	I Don't Want To Go Blind	4:02

LOUDSPEAKER Supernatural 1991

 noise rock

Discogs

Artist Biography by Steve Huey

New York noise rockers Loudspeaker combined the bleak experimentalism of bands like the Jesus Lizard, Swans, and Unsane with the garagey blues-punk of outfits like Laughing Hyenas, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and Royal Trux. Formed in 1990, the original Loudspeaker lineup featured two ex-members of Crucifix -- guitarist/singer Matt Borruso and drummer Chris Douglas -- and two ex-members of Boss Hog in guitarist Kurt Wolf (also of Pussy Galore) and bassist Jens Jürgensen (also of Swans). The group debuted in 1990 with a 7" single for Sympathy for the Record Industry, "Pray." Jürgensen subsequently departed, and was replaced by Charles Hanson. The "King" single followed on Lungcast in 1991, and their first full-length album, Supernatural, appeared in 1992 on the Patois/Cargo label. At this point, their avant noise leanings had yet to give way to the bluesier style -- complete with slide guitar -- of later releases. That evolution started with another lineup change, which found Borruso trading in the rest of the band for a new power-trio format, with a rhythm section of bassist Christian Bongers and drummer Martin Kob. This version of Loudspeaker recorded the band's second album, Rubberneckers vs. Tailgaters, for Sympathy for the Record Industry in 1995. Their third and final album, 1996's Re-Vertebrate (cut for Another Planet), was their clearest fusion of noise rock and scuzzy blues, featuring Borruso on organ as well as guitar. Kurt Wolf went on to play with Emma Peel.

Tracklist

1	Black Ink	2:58
2	Nicotine Skin	3:13
3	Stump Neck	2:56
4	Know What I Mean	3:19
5	Shutdown	5:31
6	Back To The Hole	3:29
7	6 Ft. Up	3:17
8	Choke	1:30
9	X-ed Out	3:51
10	Five Easy Pieces	5:59

CUSTOM FLOOR From a Body 1997

grunge/indie rock

Discogs

Tracklist

1	With The Grain
2	Cheerleader
3	Drive-By
4	Rich And Famous
5	Waiting
6	Late Night Moan
7	Take Your Hands
8	Kill Yourself
9	Storybook World
10	Solar Power

SEBADOH The Sebadoh 1999

by request

 

Discogs 

 

 Tracklist 

1	It's All You	2:41
2	Weird	3:26
3	Bird In The Hand	1:36
4	Break Free	2:39
5	Tree	4:17
6	Nick Of Time	2:52
7	Flame	4:56
8	So Long	1:57
9	Love Is Stronger	4:45
10	Decide	3:42
11	Colorblind	2:51
12	Thrive	4:12
13	Cuban	2:40
14	Sorry	3:03
15	Drag Down	2:50

 

TUNGSTEN The Tungsten Survival Kit 1997

by request

 

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Can't Fix A Broken Girl
2	It's Better To Be Alone
3	Your Agenda
4	Actress
5	Swept Away
6	I Won't Let
7	Afflatus
8	The Last
9	A Picture Of You
10	I'll Make It Alone
11	Serpent
12	eToH
13	My Reflection