Royal Cyclopean 7" (2016)

Royal Cyclopean

(2016, Guided by Voices Inc.)

One of two 7'' singles released a month before ESP Ohio's debut LP, Starting Point of the Royal Cyclopean, each single features an LP track plus 2 unreleased Pollard/ESP Ohio tunes. Limited to 500 copies worldwide, both 7''s sold out in a flash at Rockathon Records. This one comes on clear red vinyl for all the color drollers out there!!! Whoa Nelly!

Side A;

Royal Cyclopean- Same track that appears on the LP Starting Point of the Royal Cyclopean. Check out the link for full LP review. 

Side B:

I'm in Shock (Hit Me With Tonic)- 5  Holy Shit! What's this doing on a b side? Under 1 minute of vintage Pollard vocal melody candy played over tightly wound, melancholy punk pop. Reminscent of a Breeders formula, or a straight rip of "Keep it in Motion," the song is a throwback to all things we love about Pollard's writing. The guitar leads are to die for, the vocals hooks popping up at unexpected moments. Forever stuck in your head, pull the needle back and play it over and over again.

A Mallard Pushing- 4  Written and performed by Doug Gillard. It's nice to see Gillard getting the main vocal showing, as the recent Pollard 7'' b-sides are often happy to let the role players take front and center. A minute and change long, this is sparse R & B lo-fi playing with a rolling acoustic lead to lead us out. The vocals are straight deadpanned, but comforting, and catchy. Sligthtly left of center, but goes down easy. Those leads'll get stuck in your head. Revisit to cure what ails ya.