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Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean

ESP Ohio

Released: 11/18/2016
Format: CD
Label: Guided By Voices Inc.
Catalog #: GBVI-70
Country: U.S.A.
Discs: 1
# Tracks: 16
Images
Front Cover
Pressing Details
Vinyl Color # Pressed
N/A
Comments
Original Release Notes: Like a long-lost artifact from some golden age of rock that never existed, ESP Ohio's debut album grabs the ear-holes and demands immediate and undivided attention. Robert Pollard says it's a band, rather than a collaboration - a distinction which may seem like splitting hairs, but rather than putting melodies and lyrics on top of other people's instrumentals, Pollard wrote these songs and sent them off to Brooklyn-based bandmates Doug Gillard, Mark Shue, and Travis Harrison to be fleshed out and then returned to him for vocal recording and mixing in the Buckeye State. Instead of fitting words and melodies around someone else's musical structure, he created the musical structure to fit his words and melodies. Also, there's a band photo.

It makes a difference - Starting Point harkens back to Isolation Drills-era Guided By Voices, perhaps inevitably because Doug Gillard is playing guitar and contributing arrangements the way he did in that era of GBV, but this debut has its own unique characteristics as well. The result is some of the most joyful noise Pollard has made in recent memory: melodic, playful, upbeat, and ... what's the word� sparkly? Sure - call it sparkle rock - a mix of bold-faced rock with weirdo proggy-psych elements and textures.

Pollard won't say whether this is a one-off or the first of a series, but he's keeping the door open. Maybe that's a key to his "process": always keep the door open. After countless songs, records, bands, line-ups, accolades, bottles of tequila� after everything, the door to the porches of Pollard's ears (this is an awkward and inappropriate allusion to Hamlet) remain open to the far-out whispers of his muse.
Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean
1.   A Much Needed Shot In The Arm 2:25
2.   The Great One 1:53
3.   Tom Tom Small And Wonderful 2:54
4.   Miss Hospital '93 2:26
5.   Birdman Of Cloth 3:08
6.   Intercourse Fashion 3:32
7.   You The Earthman 3:05
8.   Flowers And Magazines 1:24
9.   Royal Cyclopean 2:33
10.  Weakened By A Logical Mind 2:24
11.  Girls House 2:03
12.  This Violent Side 1:33
13.  The Ticket Who Rallied 2:33
14.  Sleeping Through The Noise 3:08
15.  Lithuanian Bombshells 3:04
16.  Grand Beach Finale 4:51
Total Length: 42:56
Other Formats
Label - Catalog [Format] (Country) # Tracks
Guided By Voices Inc. - GBVI-70 [LP] (U.S.A.) 16

Album Credits
Artwork/Design
Role Name
Art Department Joe Patterson
Art Department Robert Pollard
Art Department Vince Williams
Art Management Sarah Zade-Pollard
Cover Art Robert Pollard
Layout Joe Patterson
Layout Robert Pollard
Musician
Role Name
Bass Guitar Mark Shue
Drums And Percussion Travis Harrison
Effects Doug Gillard
Guitar Doug Gillard
Keyboards Doug Gillard
Vocals Robert Pollard
Production
Role Name
Engineer (Music) Travis Harrison
Engineer (Vocals) Nick Mitchell
Mastering Nick Mitchell
Mixing (Music) Travis Harrison
Mixing (Vocals) Nick Mitchell
Studio
Role Name
Mixing Location (Music) Serious Business Music - New York, NY
Mixing Location (Vocals) Any Road Studio, Dayton, OH
Recording Location (Music) Serious Business Music - New York, NY
Recording Location (Vocals) Any Road Studio, Dayton, OH
Publishing
Role Name
Copyright 2016
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 For Carol Ramby Pollard
Additional Album Text Keep It In Motion
Additional Album Text www.robertpollard.net
Additional Album Text www.robertpollardart.com
Additional Album Text www.rockathonrecords.com
Rockathon Records Kevin Poindexter
Rockathon Records Matt Davis
Rockathon Records Mike Lipps