| JERSEY
BEAT
DOUG
GILLARD - Salamander (Pink Frost)
The longtime guitar player for Ohio¹s Guided By Voices strikes
out on his own here with fourteen humanistic yarns set to a variety
of different musical styles. Gillard may surprise a number of people
here with the accessibility of this record. While much of the material
is bathed in folk heritage, there are infectious hooks brimming
throughout this disc. It should also be noted that, aside from only
a scant bit of help, Gillard played every instrument on this record,
proving to be as multi-talented as he is prolific. "Wait For
You", "The Cape and Bay" and "Me and the Wind"
are all pretty songs, driven by heartfelt lyrics and intricate strumming,
but the real stand outs include "Valpolicella", which
kicks off the album and the surprisingly pop-oriented "Going
Back (to you)". Fans of up-tempo sixties guitar pop should
love this, and this will hopefully garner more attention for a band
whose band helped to launch a million indie rock imitators, but
never seemed to find themselves in the spotlight. With Guided saying
so long, sadly, Gillard will undoubtedly have more time to pursue
his solo work. This is a great gift from one of the indie greats.
- Rich Quinlan
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