Pitchfork

Drunkard genius Robert Pollard's a real giver; over the course of his lengthy tenure as one of indie rock's greatest songwriters, he's issued more albums than he's downed Miller Lites, and that cat can suck down a brew-dog. So many albums that even the most official ironman occasionally has to peer into an empty wallet and mutter "maybe next time, Bobby."

Those looking to play catch-up on Pollard's long-running Fading Captain series-- an outpouring of discs by Pollard side projects and friends of the Cap'n himself-- get a little boost May 15, as Crickets: The Best of the Fading Captain Series is released by Luna Music. Sporting 56 tracks splayed over two CDs and 160 minutes, Crickets marks the first appearance of six new Pollard nuggets, including a pair from the recent Silverfish Trivia EP, with the rest representing the best of Fading Captain's 43 chapters.

Though the most dedicated GBV-aholics have already pawned their fillings to pay for much of Fading Captain, the press release chides that Crickets "will be enjoyed by the hardcore fans who own everything and the fringe GBV fan who had trouble tackling the 43 release catalog." The Captain camp is keeping the tracklist under wraps until the compilation drops, leaving us to speculate just how insane it is.

For one of the all-time great namers of things, Pollard sure doesn't like to stick to a moniker for too long: Crickets will mean bon voyage for the Fading Captain Series. On to the next!