(Guided By Voices Inc.)

www.robertpollard.net

The best moments on Boston Spaceships' third LP bring to mind the image of an adolescent Robert Pollard leafing through the Columbia House Records catalog and picking out albums by their far out cover art. King Crimson, The Who, and, of course, Boston. The latter's sci-fi sleeves are paid homage as the namesake of the outfit that channels Pollard's desire to still kick some classic rock ass. Before it occurred to him that art and rock were colliding (or could at all), the kid from Dayton just wanted to pound out some loud like Pete Townshend. Everything else would be for another moniker to deal with.      

Opener "Track Star" pins itself to "Substitute" style Who with an appropriately updated amount of punch (note Decemeberist mainstay Jon Moen's monstrous drum fills), as well as eliciting memories of Pollard's own "Big School," from way back on Guided By Voice's Static Airplane Jive EP. It's  that intersection between big kick rock shit and sugary hooks that's Pollard's been able to derive his legendary status from. Quick on its heels, "John The Dwarf Wants To Become An Angel" (come on, who else?) settles in with a walk down riff and two chord hook, and it's just about definite that there's a very good reason to be taking Boston Spaceships seriously. As the remaining 14 tracks unfold, Cubehouse tends to plateau into familiar territory as the pleasantly inspired surprises step back inside the comfortable box that Pollard's built for himself. Take "Trick Of The Telekinetic Newlyweds": it's fun hearing him wrap his tongue around the title, but beyond something a little more respectable than novelty, there isn't too much to settle in with.

If Cubehouse tried for anything loftier, its rewards would be far more modest.

DOWNLOAD: "Track Star," "Come On Baby Grace" ZACH BLOOM