Broken Toys: A Review Of The New Album From U.S. Rip Van Winkle (Robert Pollard Of Guided By Voices)

The last few Guided By Voices records have left me befuddled and bored, frankly. Still, Robert Pollard remains a formidable and prolific talent, and one still capable of surprising and pleasing a listener. That said, I liked the Cub Scout Bowling Pins record more than the last handful of GBV ones.

Returning to his Rip Van Winkle stuff, Pollard's back with more DIY weirdness. Now called U.S. Rip Van Winkle, the band's new one is The U.S. Rip Van Winkle and it is the sort of release that is likely to please long-time followers more than the prog-rock ramblings of the last few GBV efforts. Numbers like "When Melvin Turns In" have the lo fi appeal of the earliest Pollard stuff, while a number like "Paint Pow" reminds us of why we fell in love with this guy in the first place. It's a bright, punchy gem, as the lumbering "The Loser" later on The U.S. Rip Van Winkle. The best cut here, "Ex's and Ohs" sees Bob nearly lift the same hook that fueld "Message of Love" by The Pretenders. The track is punchy in the way not much from Guided By Voices has been for years. Similarly, "Broken Toys" could be mistaken for an old GBV nugget from the Under the Bushes, Under the Stars era.

The U.S. Rip Van Winkle is the sort of thing that delivers the pleasures we want from a record from a Robert Pollard project. That he had to offer up his most GBV-ish album in years by doing something with a side band is interesting. And while I've not been paying too much attention of late to GBV albums, given how much I liked this U.S. Rip Van Winkle album, I'll likely keep an ear out for any new non-GBV Robert Pollard projects.

The U.S. Rip Van Winkle by U.S. Rip Van Winkle is out now via Rockathon Records. Details below.

[Photo: Bandcamp]