ROBERT POLLARD
FROM A COMPOUND EYE
MERGE

TORONTO NOW
By Tim Perlich

****

For his first post-GBV solo recording, Robert Pollard has returned to his suitcases of cassette tapes and whipped a selection of the hundreds of forgotten son fragments dating back to the 70s in to the marvellously varied and surprisingly listenable 26-track double-album length From a Compound Eye (out Tuesday). Anyone expecting a half-arsed Fading Captain Series mess from the one-man song factory will be shocked by the atypically resolved and refined state of much of this material, which ranges from sweet pop
ballads to fired-up freakbeat, with regular excursions in to prog and psych weirdness. It should be noted that From a Compound Eye was recorded in 2004, so it's likely Pollard has two or three new discs ready to by now, but GBV fans should definitely check this one out - there's a lot to like.