Boston Spaceships - Zero to 99 +Album Reviews

Radical Amazement!!

McSpunkle | USA | 10/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best Spaceships record yet, and probably the best album Bob's put out in years. Chris Slusarenko, who covers most of the guitar and bass duties here, seems to understand Bob's vision better than most of his other current collaborators (For further proof, check out The Takeovers and the other two BS records). This album is chock full of the kind of melodies that make you think, "how has no one come up with this before?" Songs like "Let it Rest For a Little While" and "Mr. Ghost Town" will be bouncing around your skull for weeks.

One of my favorite things about this band is how they take old GBV songs and demos, and update them. The first Suitcase boxset seems to be where several of these first appeared. Opener "Pluto The Skate" sounds pretty much like the same version with added "I Am The Walrus" style psychedelic strings at the end. One of my favorite GBV songs of all time, "Meddle" (dating back almost 20 years) is updated from a jangly bedroom demo to a stomping rocker. Simply stellar.

If you're at all familiar with the work of Robert Pollard, you know what to expect, and it's all here: Rock, pop, punk, prog, psych, great hooks, killer riffs, funny, thought provoking, abstract lyrics.

Bob's voice is in excellent form here, and the fidelity has been slightly lowered in comparison to most of his recent albums, leading one to almost believe that this was recorded in the early to mid nineties. Seriously, it's that good. Some of the songs even crash right into each other, ala Alien Lanes.

Guest appearences by Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey bring us one step closer to my dream collaboration of Robert Pollard and Robyn Hitchcock... it'll probably never happen, but you never know...

And do yourself a favor, check out Bob's solo album, Elephant Jokes, released earlier this year. Killer killer stuff."

Classic Pollard

John E. | The Doledrums | 10/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For all the naysayers out there, this is one of the best post GbV records in quite some time. All the Circus Devil experimentation has been left behind (not that there's anything wrong with that)in favor of Pollard at his classicist, great pop melody best. Can't say enough good things about this record. How Wrong You Are - Radical Amazement - Question Girl All Right - Let It Rest for a Little While - Trashed Aircraft Baby - Meddle - Exploding Anthills - The Comedian - A Good Circuitry Soldier. Every one of these deserve entry into The Pollard Book of Rock Genius. Nuff said"

Classic Pollard

E. Reynolds | Seattle, WA United States | 10/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the best Pollard record since perhaps Alien Lanes or Over the Bushes. If this had come out in 1996 as a GBV record it would be talked about now as one of their greatest, alongside Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, etc.

When Pollard screams "IS EVERYBODY HAPPY NOW?" on the first track, it's as if he knows this is this record that us longtime fans have been waiting for since Guided By Voices broke up in 2002. Track two, "How Wrong You Are" is an anthemic Pollard insta-classic that ends with a refrain reminiscent of the "You Are Forgiven" refrain in The Who's "A Quick One While He's Away".

From the Buzzcocks-esque guitars on "Found Obstruction Rock 'n' Rolls," to the Keith Moonish, Tommy-era drums of "Question Girls All Right," to the McCartney-like bass riffs on "Trashed Aircraft Baby" that would fit right in on Abbey Road, Zero to 99 is a timeless rock classic. This is pure Pollard melodic rock, and easily my favorite Pollard record in a decade.

"

Best Pollard album since Isolation Drills

T. Krings | 10/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Combines the best elements of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, and Isolation Drills. The album is wonderfully sequenced, so when it drags (though it rarely does), there's something close by to slap you in the face and rope your attention back in. "Mr. Ghost Town" is an insanely catchy pop song that gets better with each listen. "How Wrong You Are" didn't click for me at first, but now it's in my head constantly. "Question Girl Alright" sounds like it was recorded during the Isolation Drills sessions. All in all, this is the post-GBV album I've been waiting for. My faith in Uncle Bob has been restored after some lackluster releases over the past couple of years.

I can't wait to listen to this album again on my drive home from work."

Fanboys Rejoice!

J. A. Wright | Miami, FL | 10/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Due to the good quality of material Bob has recently released, I was looking forward to his Elephant Jokes release which pre-release scuttlebutt had as a "return to form" for Bob. Although I enjoyed EJ, I was a little underwhelmed. In fact, at this point I find it the weakest release since the high point of the first BS recording(I say "at this point" because Bob's recordings tend to seep in and require further evaluation). I am probably at odds with the general consensus but I find some of his best songs on the new Circus Devils, Gringo. Psycho is a Bad Boy could easily have made it onto a Circus Devils record. Anyhoo, I regress, Zero To 99 is excellent; it is the strongest and most varied thing Bob's dropped of late. I have to admit it took a few listens to sink in but most of Bob's best works that way. You're going about your daily business and one of his hooks pops up in your head. For me it was the hook and melody to Question Girl. I didn't quite know what to make of the cockrawk of Thrashed Aircraft but it fits the mold of those endearing rockers like Bulldog Skin and most recently Cave Zone. This one is full of those great Pollard Hooks and there are so many great lyrics. You can tell there was a lot of care invested in this; songs seem fully developed with a neat flourish added here and there. A stellar way for Bob to finish 09."

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	Boston Spaceships Zero to 99 Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock 2009 release from this outfit led by former Guided By Voices mainman Robert Pollard, one of the most prolific artists in Rock music. Boston Spaceships' Zero to 99 is quintessential Pollard, a record that holds its own alon... more » « less
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