FaCE manages to be new, fresh and experimental while still retaining the listenability of much of Pollard’s seemingly never-ending canon. Personally, I’d call it his White Album: smart, accessible, experimental and sure to polarize Pollard fans everywhere.  Full text...

Whether it's the end of an era, the beginning of a new one, or just a lucky break in what looks to be a still-incessant deluge of output, From a Compound Eye bypasses the earlier seven LPs-plus released in his name to mark the emergence of Robert Pollard as a solo artist proper.   Full text...

Indeed, From a Compound Eye is both a synopsis and reaffirmation of Pollard's influences. His music has always been catchy because, underneath all the lo-fi hiss and glam-rock bombast, are solid pop songs grounded in melody and rhythm.  Full text...

From a Compound Eye launches a new journey for indie-rock's pre-eminent song-dispenser, an early indication that Pollard has directed his prolific flow inward.  Full text...

Less goofy and more focused than some of Pollard's prior solo releases, "Compound Eye" proves there will still be life after GBV.  Full text...

Good rock is good rock, and Robert Pollard is still as capable as ever.  Full text...

The disc is eclectic and overflowing, in the tradition of deck-clearing double LPs like the Minutemen's Double Nickels On The Dime and The Beatles' White Album.  Full text...

In both material and performance, From a Compound Eye quickly reveals itself to be classic Pollard. Anachronistic melodies prop his trademark instant poetry through a psych-pop, tape-hiss snowstorm of overdriven guitars and cheap synths. Amplified to rock? Always.  Full text...

From a Compound Eye is ostensibly Robert Pollard's first post-Guided by Voices solo release. But it's well-known that this exhaustive 26-track, 70-minute-plus release has been accumulating material and approximate shape for years; it's like one of the GbV Suitcase compilations in miniature.  Full text...

Robert Pollard lost his band but not his ambition.  Full text...

It's engaging, inventive and possessed by the bona fide spirit of rock ‘n roll. It's just that, if he's able to take us halfway to brilliance, why not go all the way?  Full text...

Unfortunately, Pollard’s insistence on including the bizarro psych and prog elements clutters the greater effort, and makes F.A.C.E. a challenging listen from start to finish.   Full text...

Nothing on this album breaks new ground; a casual listen establishes that. It's the way From a Compound Eye fails to strike off for the unknown that frustrates me so much.  Full text...