It is endlessly astounding that Robert Pollard has any more music to give us. The former frontman for now-defunct Guided By Voices used the past few decades to build and polish his reputation as indie rock’s most stoned chatterbox, releasing over 20 LPs with room to spare. One wonders if Pollard is truly guided by voices who hail from a nearby astral plane, eager to be his muses. So despite GBV’s 2014 split, Pollard wasn’t going to let a silly break up stop him from recording new songs.
Enter Ricked Wicky, Pollard’s new(ish) solo stage name. They’ve got a debut under their belt in I Sell The Circus, and their sophomore King Heavy Metal is slated for sometime this summer. (In between RW releases, Pollard unsurprisingly released a solo record under his own name a mere few months ago.) King Heavy Metal‘s lead single “Tomfoole Terrific” is Pollard-esque in every way – its loose, crunchy guitars sound like early Weezer surf metal, and ol’ Robbie’s familiar croak simmers underneath. As always, he sings in half thoughts and barely-remembered memories painted with an oft-used brush of vaguely Midwestern nostalgia. He may sound older and a little wearier, but he’s still got plenty on his mind. Hail, hail.
Listen to the song over at Stereogum, and keep your eyes peeled for King Heavy Metal.
Though originally from Virginia, Kelsey recently graduated from the University of Georgia with a cavalcade of neat degrees. She's written for other sites like Wide Open Country, Half Past, Seeing Trees Music, The Cropper, InfUSion Magazine, and Blurt. Kelsey’s greatest weakness is a large bowl of pho, and though she doesn’t know it yet, her friends will soon host a soup intervention for her. In her spare time she enjoys exploring abandoned buildings, crafting dad-humor puns, collecting vintage key chains, writing long lists that utilize the Oxford comma, and acting like Larry David.