Space City Kicks

Robert Pollard

Guided By Voices, Inc.

Jan 19, 2011 Issue #34 - Year End 2010 - Sufjan Stevens By Frank Valish

By now, you know the drill. If you like Robert Pollard, you'll go out and buy Space City Kicks. If you don't, this is yet another in a long string of Pollard albums you'll ignore. But here's the deal. Following on the heels of the Guided By Voices reunion tour and the first of probably a baker's dozen of releases for 2011, Space City Kicks combines all that you love (or hate) about Pollard. "I Wanna Be Your Man in the Moon" is melodic, anthemic, and just all around big. "Mr. Fantastic Must Die!" is noisy and bizarre and over in less than 90 seconds. "Sex She Said" is minimalist and dark. And those are all within the first five songs. Plus, track six, "One More Touch," is almost a ballad. Engaging and strikingly diverse throughout, Space City Kicks is everything you've come to expect from Pollard, for better or for worse. (www.robertpollard.net)

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