If
Robert Pollard's project
Boston Spaceships hit a snag after a strong start with their third album, 2009's
Zero to 99, they're back to running full speed ahead on their fourth LP, 2010's
Our Cubehouse Still Rocks. Once again partnered with John Moen of
the Decemberists and Chris Slusarenko of
the Takeovers and
Sprinkler,
Pollard easily conjures up the sound of classic-era
Guided by Voices on
Our Cubehouse Still Rocks, and if stylistically this music feels more like a look to the past than a bold step into the future, let's be honest -- which album are you more likely to listen to for pleasure,
Bee Thousand or
From a Compound Eye? At its best, this album sounds like
Guided by Voices without the tape noise and the odd pointless tracks, and the strength of this album (and the bulk of the
Boston Spaceships catalog) speaks to the reason
Boston Spaceships stand out from
Pollard's solo work.
Pollard works best with sympathetic musicians willing to work up a sweat and act as a sounding board regarding which songs are working and which are not, and by all appearances that's what he has in Moen and Slusarenko, and as a consequence this has been a stronger vehicle than anything
Pollard has given himself since the end of
GBV (with the exception of his one-off collaboration with
Tommy Keene,
the Keene Brothers). With former
GBV guitarist
Doug Gillard and
Sam Coomes of
Quasi making guest appearances,
Our Cubehouse Still Rocks has no shortage of guitar firepower, and with tough six-string snarl dominating much of the album, these 16 songs have more than enough rock & roll muscle to give shape and power to
Pollard's pop-flavored melodies. It's this fusion of melody and power that makes
Boston Spaceships a great vehicle for the kind of songs
Pollard writes so well -- whatever sort of house this is, there's no arguing that it rocks, and pretty enthusiastically, too. ~ Mark Deming