Robert Pollard’s unstoppable logorrhea has always been both a gift and a curse, inevitably discovering a magic concoction of fantastic imagery and lovingly twisted melodies but also hiding those gems among dozens upon dozens of perplexing exercises that only a similarly touched person could decode.

He’s a visionary, and visionaries never employ editors, even when it might do them some good.

With his Circus Devils side project, Pollard employs his ex-Guided by Voices band mates and brothers Tim and Todd Tobias for a predictably frustrating but intriguing album. Pollard’s voice has such good memories attached to it, it’s pleasing just to follow him down this rabbit hole, even if turgid, sludgy odes like “Outlasting Garafalo” sound more like a Pearl Jam parody than classic GBV.

“New Boy” alone almost justifies Sgt. Disco with the manic, tinny toy-piano backing providing a crazed atmosphere in which Pollard clearly feels comfortable. Sgt. Disco has a much darker aura than the core of Pollard’s work; he bleats, blurts, sputters, and shakes all over these tracks, and the arrangements bear distinct metal influences (put through his unique filter of course).

New listeners will be perplexed; old fans know the drill. It’s not easy loving a visionary.

- Michael Patrick Brady
Circus Devils (Ipecac)