(Guided By Voices Inc.) www.robertpollard.net  

It’s not like Bob Pollard hadn’t put out solo albums before, but since the demise of Guided By Voices, the expectations for these previously minimal projects has understandably grown.  Is Off To Business is a much greater success if listened to as it is, a solo project; nostalgic GBV fans would be wary to expect balls-out Who riffs and/or the lo-fi pop song fragments that made the band cult faves. Up against the recent streak of carpet bombing the record bins—stand-up comedy albums, tossed off EPs, and home recording experiments—the straightforward pop Dayton’s favorite son is dealing in here harks back to gems like Kid Marine and Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department: the bright spots outshine the occasional tossoff. While he may never choose to fill the vacancy left by his old band, preferring to live off the road, liver convalescing, it’s clear Bob Pollard will, thankfully, always be around.

Standout Tracks: “Gratification To Concrete,” “Weatherman and Skin Goddess” ZACHARY BLOOM