Entry One: Stronger Lizards

From "The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet EP," a companion EP to the Universal Truths and Cycles album, 2002.

If there is one thing Robert Pollard knows, it's the value of brevity. He seems to follow the line of thought that one should never do something sixteen times if they can do it eight times and shouldn't do it eight times if they can do it four. On one hand, I'm in favor of this approach because it means I can trust that after a song is over, I'm wanting more. I can't say that about very many musicians, even those whose work I enjoy and admire. In this case, it's probably to the songs detriment just in that the song is so good and it's a shame to hear it end. It's clearly the beginning of a classic Pollard anthem and just as it threatens to break into a fist pump worthy chorus, the song ends after just 55 seconds. The effect is disorienting in a good way but it leaves one wondering what might have been.

Lyric and instrumentation wise, we're in familiar territory, lots of G chords and C chords and D chords, abstract lyrics that hint at menace and failure in men, without being overt. This familiarity does nothing to hinder my enjoyment, however. I don't go to Robert Pollard for innovation and find that a lot of the time, when he tries for it, he falls short.

B+

Favorite Lyric: Her dissolve deserves/ to think themselves awake/ dressed in religion in peril.