Artist bio

See also: Airport 5, Guided By Voices, Lifeguards

Robert Pollard is principally known as the frontman and leader of indie rock juggernaut Guided By Voices. But his recording career extends beyond GBV, with a series of albums released eponymously and pseudonomysly fulfilling his extracurricular creative urge.

Pollard formed GBV in 1985, but it wasn't until 1996 when he took the step beyond with the Matador release of Not In My Airforce, accompanied on the same day by a solo album from fellow GBV songwriter Tobin Sprout. The aquatic-themed Waved Out followed in 1998, but it wasn't until the following year's Kid Marine when Pollard decided to subtitle it "No. 1 in the Fading Captain Series." And the rest was history.

If you dozed through your history classes, though, the short story is that Pollard has exploited the Fading Captain moniker in the years since, often releasing three or four albums a year -- plus assorted compilations -- on local Dayton, Ohio label Rockathon. The man is a rock and roll genius, although subpar songs are a matter of course. It's hard to sum his work up in a few scant paragraphs, so instead I offer a Fading Captain salute: Bottoms Up, You Fantastic Bastard!

Albums by this artist

From A Compound Eye (2006)

Zoom 7" (2005)

Relaxation of the Asshole (2005)

Music For Bubble EP (2005)

Motel of Fools (2003)

Choreographed Man Of War (2001)

Speak Kindly Of Your Local Volunteer Fire Department (Recommended) (1999)

Kid Marine (1999)

Waved Out (1998)

Not In My Airforce (1996)

Robert Pollard

Kid Marine

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» JOHN WENZEL | STAFF WRITER

Robert Pollard Kid Marine Fading Captain Series #1, 1999 RiYL:

With Kid Marine, Robert Pollard gives us yet another solo album for us to feast upon. For most musicians this would seem excessive, since Pollard's second solo effort Waved Out came out less than a year before this album's release. But for this insanely prolific artist, it's no big deal.

In fact, Pollard has two more releases planned for May of '99 in the Fading Captain Series (a label he created for personal releases and side projects). Add that to GBV's August release of their long-awaited Do the Collapse, and you've got a buttload of music in one short year. But this is something GBV fans have come to expect: Huge amounts of product in short amounts of time. The only drawback of this is the quality. If you're releasing 100 songs per year, you can bet a lot of them will be throwaways and outtakes.

Kid Marine is more consistent, and quite a bit more dry, than either of Pollard's previous solo albums. His first, Not in My Airforce (1996), had some excellent songs but was too scattered to really be called an "album." Waved Out (1998) was equally strong, but dark and disjointed.

This record represented somewhat of a new direction for Pollard. It is layered with keyboards, bongos, feedback and even the occasional stringed instrument. The opening track, "Submarine Teams," explodes with an eerie vocal loop and Pollard's trademark Beatles-influenced pop melodies. "Flings of the Waistcoat Crowd," an appealing acoustic ditty, is followed by the majestic rock of "The Big Makeover." The rest of the album ranges from dark, experimental post-punk ("Television Prison") to breezy ballads ("Town of Mirrors") to catchy, but slightly askew jams ("White Gloves Come Off").

Recorded at GBV's favorite hometown studio, Cro-Mag Studios in Dayton, the album is consistent and clean. Although Pollard strums all the guitars, the drumming is handled by ex-Breeder and GBV skin-man Jim Macpherson, lending it an air of professionalism and solidity. Longtime GBV bassist Greg Demos provides a firm ground on which to layer sounds.

Ironically, the most disappointing aspect of the album is the mundane cover art and liner notes. Pollard is known for his inventive and bizarre picture collages, and it would have been a nice complement to the music. In any event, Kid Marine is a dense album that deserves a few listens (preferably through headphones). It's also a step in an unfamiliar direction for Pollard, as he pulls out of his reliance on '60s pop structures and verse/chorus/verse progressions to create a befuddling, but ultimately satisfying, listening experience.

JOHN WENZEL | John is a Denver-based writer and former editor of Sponic magazine. John currently works for The Denver Post and Rockpile and has contributed to such noble but non-paying enterprises as Shredding Paper, Aversion.com, and Erasing Clouds. He's obsessed with the Dayton, Ohio '90s music scene but likes to think he's keen on some of the new bands the kids are listening to these days. John also helps run the Friendly Psychics Music recording collective. Email.