In the States (That I Go Through)

I'm not sure how rare this song is in terms of being able to find it for purchase, but I do know it seems fairly rare in terms of being essentially a demo that Robert Pollard never revisited or even seemed to cannibalize.

The song is found on Single Wish, a various artists fundraising disc put out by Sprite Recordings. Longtime Pollard associates Todd Robinson and Jason Pierce were involved, and several Pollard/Guided by Voices related artists appear. Tobin Sprout contributes, as does one time Eyesinweasel guitarist Nik Kizirnis. Other standouts come from the Candy Butchers (Mike Viola's band), The Impossible Shapes, the Green Pajamas, Mark Kozelek, David Garza and Ron Sexsmith.

But we're here, of course, to discuss Pollard. The song is lo-fi, sounding like Pollard sitting in front of a boombox singing and playing a guitar. It's not a bad song, per se, but there's not much to latch onto. Ideally, Pollard would have fleshed this out at some point. As it stands, it's among the weaker tracks on this otherwise pleasantly surprising disc.