Let It Beard

Editors’ Notes Since retiring the Guided By Voices franchise, Robert Pollard has been even more prolific with solo albums and collaborations such as Circus Devils, Keane Brothers, Lifeguards and Boston Spaceships, his recording enterprise with the Decemberists’ John Moen and the Takeovers’ Chris Slusarenko. Let It Beard is unlike many of his post-GBV albums. Where those records have largely been concise and quick on the ears, Let It Beard is a 26-track, 70-minute opus. As always, the four Ps — power, pop, punk and prog — are in evidence. “Juggernaut vs. Monolith” may be a brief jag, but tracks such as “Make a Record For Lo-Life,” “Let More Light In the House” and “A Hair In Every Square Inch of the House” are fully worked-out tracks. Guests such as Mick Collins of the Dirtbombs, J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., Colin Newman of Wire and Steve Wynn of the Dream Syndicate add extra color and have apparently encouraged Pollard to bring his A-game.