Boston Spaceships – Let It Beard
August 2nd, 2011
Guided By Voices
Score: 8.2
Boston Spaceships describe their latest effort as “A subconscious concept album about the sorry state of rock and roll.” This critique of modern rock manifests itself in the surreal crevices of Robert Pollard’s brain as a robust care package air-dropped for rock-thirsty fans to devour. While often described as a side project for Pollard, Chris Slusarenko (Guided by Voices), and John Moen (The Decemberists), Boston Spaceships has taken on an enduring life of its own, even if hasn’t matched the indie-icon status of its members’ resumes. Let It Beard does not sound anything like a side project. Instead, it sounds like a well-loved central focus for three accomplished musicians. This double LP is the culmination of a few decades making music and few more spent absorbing it like sponges putting in overtime. It’s a cohesive and deliberate tour through rock with exposed rough edges protruding from under a glittery sheen.
Throughout, we can hear the influential voices of The Who and Pink Floyd filtered through the Spaceships’ raw, lo-fi aesthetic. The whole album looks back without becoming unsettlingly nostalgic or losing any forward momentum. ‘Make A Record For Lo-Life’ quickly warms up to any set of speakers. A timeless chord progression underscores Pollard begging “Darling make a record with me.” That passion and urgency infuses every song…this was a record that simply needed to be made. Only moments later, the instrumentation is set to destroy with ‘You Just Can’t Tell’. The steady bass and warm distortion cut like the serrated edge of Pollard’s ominous lyrical blade.
‘(I’ll Make It) Strong For You’ is a naked promise made over rough, lonely guitar chords. The promise is made all the more memorable by the minimalism. The punk rock burst of ‘Pincushion’ goes down like a first shot of whiskey before giving way to the smooth, joyous chaser of ‘Christmas Girl’. The hard-rocking ‘Inspiration Points’ is the longest song on the album and its aggressively layered, mercurial arrangement merits the extra time.
From Let It Be to beard-rock, Let It Beard is like an elective credit in rock history and criticism.
Jeremy Schaefer