The Ids Are Alright

"The Ids Are Alright" feels like the combination of a handful of things that, while pleasant enough, don't really add up to much. First there's the title, which is a fun play on the title of a song by one of Robert Pollard's favorite bands, the Who. He'd probably been saving that one for a while; why he used it here is anyone's guess.

Then there's the music, which has a jaunty, near bluegrass vibe thanks to what sure sounds like a banjo thrumming away. There's even what sounds like a melodica that comes into the mix late in the song (think Clinic or, for you old timers out there, the Hooters).

Lastly, there are Pollard's vocals. This is one of the rare times that a song might have been better left as an instrumental, as a Doug Gillard lead might have been more compelling than what his boss came up with. There is nothing wrong with Pollard's vocal or the lyrics, but it's a melody that isn't really given a chance to go anywhere given the 1:10 running time. He does drop a few good lines in, however: "And once the answer to all God's problems escaped us as quickly as it came," he sings, before closing, somewhat anticlimactically, with "But that's OK, because all things happen."