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Honey Locust Honky Tonk

Robert Pollard

Released: 07/08/2013
Format: CD
Label: Fire Records
Catalog #: FIRECD330
Country: United Kingdom
Discs: 1
# Tracks: 17
Images
Front Cover
Pressing Details
Vinyl Color # Pressed
N/A ?  
Comments
Original Release Notes: Honey Locust Honky Tonk is a compact wonder and so varied, tuneful, graceful, magnificent and ebullient that one will be forgiven for thinking that Robert Pollard has saved his best for his own album. Slicker in some ways than recent Guided By Voices efforts, though not without its own down-home charm, its 17 songs whiz by in 34 minutes, stridently showcasing Pollard's songwriting mastery with some of the best tunes he's ever penned.

The longest, the semi-stately album closer �Airs,� clocks in at just over three and a half minutes, but most are in the two- or two-and-half-minute range typical of Pollard's attenuating genius. "I'm not afraid to be immature, to make a fool of myself," he recently offered as a reason why he's been able to continue writing music at such a high level for so long. "I'm not afraid to look insane." The only thing crazy about a song like "It Disappears in the Least Likely Hands (We May Never Not Know)" is its slightly loopy title. The song itself, a chugging Heroes-era Bowie anthem whose entire lyrics are contained in the title, is a marvel of both concision and affect, featuring the full force and range of Pollard's voice, which has never sounded better.

For any other guy whose reunited band just finished putting out four full albums and an EP in 18 months, the release of yet still again another solo album might seem excessive, to say the least, but Honey Locust Honky Tonk sees Pollard in top songwriting form. For example, the four-song run that begins with "Suit Minus the Middle" and concludes with "She Hides in Black" not only includes object lessons in Pollard's life-long obsession with what he calls the "four Ps: pop, punk, psych and prog," but longtime fans will also be rewarded with a reference to a beloved character from early solo effort Kid Marine.

In truth, Pollard never holds anything back, and always seems uncannily able to pull any number of music tricks from his magic sleeve. He's done it again, folks. Honey Locust Honky Tonk is as sweet and as sharp as anything Pollard and friends has ever produced. Bite it and see.
Honey Locust Honky Tonk
1.   He Requested Things 2:39
2.   Circus Green Machine 1:24
3.   Strange And Pretty Day 2:12
4.   Suit Minus The Middle 0:51
5.   Drawing A Picture 1:44
6.   Who Buries The Undertaker? 2:26
7.   She Hides In Black 2:43
8.   Her Eyes Play Tricks On The Camera 2:33
9.   Find A Word 1:27
10.  I Have To Drink 0:44
11.  Flash Gordon Style 2:09
12.  Igloo Hearts 1:39
13.  Shielding Whatever Needs You 1:13
14.  I Killed A Man Who Looks Like You 1:53
15.  Real Fun Is No One's Monopoly 2:26
16.  It Disappears In The Least Likely Hands (We May Never Not Know) 2:31
17.  Airs 3:36
Total Length: 34:10
Other Formats
Label - Catalog [Format] (Country) # Tracks
Fire Records - FIRELP330 [LP] (United Kingdom) 17
Guided By Voices Inc. - GBVI-35 [CD] (U.S.A.) 17
Guided By Voices Inc. - GBVI-35 [LP] (U.S.A.) 17

Album Credits
Artwork/Design
Role Name
Artwork Robert Pollard
Layout Joe Patterson
Layout Robert Pollard
Red Storm Photograph John Courtney
Production
Role Name
Mastering Chris Keffer
Studio
Role Name
Mastering Location Magnetic North - Cleveland, OH
Publishing
Role Name
Copyright 2013
Publisher Needmore Songs
Songwriter Robert Pollard
Management/Business
Role Name
Business Management Eric Weiss
Legal Richard Grabel
Management David Newgarden
Other
Role Name
Additional Album Text A Factory Of Raw Essentials Product
Additional Album Text Keep It In Motion
Additional Album Text www.robertpollard.net
Additional Album Text www.rockathonrecords.com
Rockathon Records Kevin Poindexter
Rockathon Records Matt Davis
Rockathon Records Mike Lipps