Pitchfork

Without magic lassos or Krypton births or (at the very least) skillful hand-to-hand combat, superheroes wouldn't be so super. Similarly, without releasing a trillion albums a year, Guided by Voices (RIP) legend Robert Pollard may not have achieved the indie rock superstar status he now holds. With no plans to relinquish the title, Bobby P. has three albums in store for the month of May, each one the product of a different side project and each due out on the Fading Captain label.

First off is Psycho and the Birds, a new collaboration with Todd Tobias. If the name Tobias rings a non-"Arrested Development" bell, it's because the producer/engineer/musician worked on Pollard's solo album, From a Compound Eye (Merge), and various Circus Devils/GBV projects. According to his official website, Pollard "records songs boombox style and sends them to Todd to dress them up." So... jean jumpers, prom dresses, and makeovers? Project #1: A+.

Psycho and the Birds' debut release is the All That Is Holy LP. Track 14, "Hello Forever", is available for download on Pollard's website.

All That Is Holy tracklist:

01 The Killers
02 Suffer the Sun
03 Alibible
04 Father Is Good
05 Blood Witness
06 Late Night Scamerica
07 Oh My Chosen One
08 Alabama Sunrise
09 Kiss You/Kill You
10 Jesus the Clockwork
11 She's Around
12 Disturbed
13 Yes an Article
14 Hello Forever
15 Break Some Concentration
16 Nation Gone Dry
17 Frozen Vegetable Fiction

Next up are the Takeovers (not to be confused with Takeover, a MySpace collective who claim to be an "extremely hard working metal band, that has allready survived many changes, proving the bands inner strength and dedication to their craft" that want us to "Bring it HARD!!!"). It's a project with former GBV bassist Chris Slusarenko, Quasi's Sam Coomes, Mudhoney's Dan Peters, and more (Stephen Malkmus is rumored to be working with the group on a future release). Their album, Turn to Red, contains both new material and old Pollard demos, all mixed up together, as if someone put them through that old rock tumbler in your closet. Track seven, "Fairly Blacking Out", can be found on RobertPollard.net.

Turn to Red tracklist:

01 Do You Get Your Wish?
02 Insane/Cool It
03 First Spill Is Free
04 Mojo Police
05 Scuffle With Nature
06 Sweet Jelly
07 Fairly Blacking Out
08 Wig Stomper
09 The Public Dance
10 Be It Not for the Serpentine Rain Dodger
11 Bullfighter's Cut
12 Jancy

Finally, there are the Keene Brothers, a poppy project with rocker Tommy Keene, who handled the guitar and keyboards on Pollard's solo trek earlier this year. Their record, awesomely titled Blues and Boogies Shoes, holds "Death of the Party", the final new tune up for the taking on Pollard's official site.

Blues and Boogies Shoes tracklist:

01 Evils Vs. Evil
02 Death of the Party
03 Beauty of the Draft
04 Where Others Fail
05 Island of Lost Lucies
06 Lost Upon Us
07 Heaven's Gate
08 The Naked Wall
09 The Camouflaged Friend
10 Must Engage
11 This Time Do You Feel It?
12 Blue Shadow

Supposedly, the albums will drop every other week this month as additions to the Fading Captain series, starting, uh, yesterday, with all the releases available for mailorder as we speak. Another tidbit we can tell you (because we already told you) is that Pollard's supernew record, tentatively titled Normal Happiness, and described by his main Merge man as "a tour de force of perfect 2-3 minute pop songs," is complete and scheduled to come out on Merge in October. So that's... five releases so far this year. Superstar quota met, Pollard is free to change his name to Bobman!

* Pitchfork Review: Robert Pollard: From a Compound Eye
* Pitchfork Feature: http://pitchforkmedia.com/features/weekly/05-01-17-guidedbyvoices.shtml ">Guided by Voices Says Goodbye
* Robert Pollard: http://robertpollard.net/