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All That Is Holy
Psycho & the Birds
All That Is Holy
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
 
  •  Track Listings (17) - Disc #1


     
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CD Details

All Artists: Psycho & the Birds
Title: All That Is Holy
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Recordhead Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 6/27/2006
Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock
Style: Indie & Lo-Fi
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 802685009121
 

CD Reviews

All That IS Holy!
John W. Evans | La Grande, OR United States | 01/22/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"If nothing else, Robert Pollard is prolific when it comes to writing and recording his songs. I believe he must be the proverbial guy who could truthfully say "I got up this morning, wrote two or three songs, then had breakfast." With that being said, one might wonder how Pollard is able to continually produce material that is at least intriguing, often refreshing and always unique.



One way to keep from getting into a rut is to vary the approach a bit, and Pollard does that here. While he is still using Todd Tobias as his instrumentalist and producer on this disc (as he has done on recent solo efforts including "From a Compound Eye" and "Normal Happiness"), this time Pollard plays guitar as only he knows how. The songs have been recorded as low-fi acoustic guitar and vocal sketches by Pollard on a boom box, and Tobias has fleshed the songs out with drums, guitars, bass and keyboards. The result? Kind of a jangling guitar-oriented collection of psychedelic-sounding rock music, all done in brief, evocative sketches. It sounds much better than one might imagine! Bob has energy, and Tobias is very creative with the arrangements.



Pollard's style of guitar playing amounts to rhythmically strumming parts of chords with a pick ... it is definitely something one could call "experimental". Although his vocals get buried in the mix once the boombox demos are fleshed out, the result is very pleasing and sounds like what it is: well thought-out, well-crafted music.



I give this album five stars despite the occasional clams one hears from Pollard on the acoustic guitar, and despite his vocals being hard to hear at times. This is a Pollard effort I will listen to more than just a few times, and I can't honestly say that about all of his solo CDs. As with the recent Pollard-Tobias material, this album is as much an impressive effort by Tobias as it is a Pollard creation. Tobias has a feel for Pollard's songs, and his additions to the original recordings only enhance them.



While I am guessing "All That Is Holy" is going to be a kind of "one-off" thing, I wouldn't mind hearing Pollard step out like this more often. There are all kinds of sounds on this disc, and you won't hear much else that compares to it nowadays. Check this one out!

"
This CD deserves to be heard!
George Griggs | New York | 12/22/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD starts with a great rock song (and very cool hand-claps). But wait a second, the next song (with a Farfisa organ) is also terrific. Hey, what's going on? I'm enjoying every single track on this CD, yet it sounds like Bob Pollard is singing and playing acoustic guitar into a boom-box tape recorder and T.Tobias adding instruments on top of that initial home "demo". This recording technique is, in fact, the strategy and reality of ALL THAT IS HOLY (imagine the sound of "Frostman" [sort of], from Isolation Drills, with more instruments).

Bob sounds loose, he sounds full of excitement, he rocks on the rockers and his acoustic "boom-box" guitar has a great sound quality to it. Todd Tobias, adding electric instruments and drums, rounds off this recording perfectly (E.g. check out the great electric guitar riff on "Alibible").

I confess: I LOVE this CD (yes, even more than some GBV records). ALL THAT IS HOLY is a CD I often listen to twice in a row --once is not enough.

Not only is every song a well crafted rock song or ballad; but every song is so interesting, catchy, and very unique. I do wish I could hear all the lyrics on certain songs, but then the "boom-box" quality would not be there -- it's a trade-off. This recording is what it is. I, for one, am grateful that I own a copy. This CD deserves to be heard!

"