As of June 29th, 2001, there were approximately 816,119 words in the English language. Assuming that, by that particular date, Robert Pollard had written about 6,000 songs, each one using approximately 10 words that didn't appear in other songs, that means that almost one tenth of all the words in the English language have appeared somewhere in a Bob Pollard song. Considering that a lot of musicians can't seem to get past the same two or three, this is a pretty big accomplishment.
Not only does Pollard use a whole lot of words; he usually manages to use them in a way that most songwriters would never even think of. Some of the catchiest songs Pollard ever wrote are called "Game of Pricks" and "Tractor Rape Chain"-- unquestionably the only times any of those words have been used in those particular orders. Sure, there have been a few moments of unabashed silliness ("Kicker of Elves"), and a few lapses into awful cliché ("Hold On Hope,") but generally speaking, Pollard has managed to retain a uniquely skewed lyrical vision.
Sadly, the same can't always be said about his music. At his best, Pollard seems to be driven by an almost inhumanly sincere passion to create great, timeless rock songs. When that sincerity shines through, the results are just fucking amazing. When it's corrupted even in the slightest by a wish to appeal to a specific audience, or to consciously stray from what Pollard is so very good at, the results generally suffer.
Which brings us to Ringworm Interiors, the fifteenth album in Pollard's "Fading Captain" series, and Pollard's only album thus far with brothers Tim and Todd Tobias backing him. While Pollard sings on the album, co-writes its songs, and no doubt came up with the name of the band and the album, Todd Tobias seems to be the prominent musician here, playing most of the album's instruments and co-producing with John Shough.
Unfortunately, it seems that the collaboration between Bob and Todd isn't nearly as fruitful as the Bob and Tobe collaborations that were released this year as Airport 5, or for that matter, the vast majority of Bob's work with Guided by Voices and as a solo artist. Todd Tobias is credited with "instrumentation and noises" on Ringworm Interiors, and that description certainly seems fitting. Aside from the usual setup of guitar, bass, and drums, the album is home to lots of strange, squeaky, and crunchy noises. Unfortunately, the urge to fuck around with effects pedals and tape delay never quite meshes with the hints of brilliant songwriting that appear throughout the record, resulting in an album with a few wonderful moments, but a general feeling of disarray.
Songs like "You First" bring to mind Pollard's recent work with the Soft Rock Renegades. Wistful, pretty, and melancholy, Pollard lets loose a truly affecting melody with a wonderfully natural delivery. It's been said over and over again that he makes it look easy-- and even after years and years of songwriting, tracks like "You First" indicate that he's far from reaching a brick wall. "Apparent the Red Angus" takes this reflective whimsy a step further, opening with a brief vocal melody that's in many ways more similar to Stephen Sondheim than Pete Townshend. The song quickly develops into a more rocked out, multi-part epic of sorts before returning to its original melody for a brief, shining moment. Beautiful stuff, and definitely one of the best Pollard songs in recent memory.
Elsewhere, Ringworm Interiors simply falls short. "Feel Try Fury" never really delivers on its arena rock promises, and the "experimental" snippets of dense fuzz and backwards guitar that are scattered all over the album accomplish absolutely nothing, other than distracting the listener from the fact that there are sometimes some really great songs underneath the layers of aimless experimentation. As has always been the case, Pollard remains at his best when there's no discernable, conscious effort to do anything other than write great songs. On Ringworm Interiors, there's ample proof that the songs are still in him. And considering that there are over 600,000 words that have yet to see inclusion in a Bob Pollard song, there's plenty of room to hope he'll find a better way to let them out.
