Wickerman Smile

The first few seconds of "Wickerman Smile" hold promise, and Robert Pollard sings the opening lines with conviction: "You'd better check out the serious nature of your creations." And then, it just kind of fizzles. It's a short song, but Pollard has shown hundreds of times that this isn't a limitation. However, in this case it feels as if he never fully decides what the songs should be.

There isn't much of a hook as he sings a rather flat melody over some minimally strummed acoustic guitar. In truth, it feels like a bridge song in a rock opera, the kind of thing meant to forward the story more than to captivate the listener. Stuck in the middle of a catch-all EP that was the result of evolving plans for an album, however, it doesn't do much more than take up two minutes. It's not bad, but there's nothing here to make one want to listen to it again, either.

Speak in Many Colors

As with "Come Outside," the instrumental string track that opens the Silverfish Trivia EP, "Speak in Many Colors" finds Robert Pollard experimenting with composition for strings. This track, however, is twice as long, features a trio rather than a duo, and is more compositionally complex and satisfying than its partner.

With the track, Pollard proves that he can do more than come up with a great vocal melody and bang out some guitar chords to accompany it. This song is rich, packing a compelling theme and counter melodies into its two minutes. If Pollard hopes to convince film directors that his music would work well in a film, these tracks ought to be part of the demo tape he uses as part of his argument.

The song again features the performance of members of New York string quartet Invert. This time, cellist Chris George and viola player Chris Jenkins are joined by Helen Yee on violin. As was the case with "Come Outside," I'd love to hear the demo.

Come Outside

Robert Pollard has talked a lot about wanting to write music for films, his work with Steven Soderbergh on "Bubble" being an example of where he could take it. If Pollard is serious about this pursuit, he needs to be willing to write instrumentals and to use different instrumentation than that he's known for. He seems to have given that a stab on the Silverfish Trivia EP.

First up is the opener, "Come Outside," a minute of strings that sound like something from an Eisenstein film. A cellist chops away to set the rhythm while a viola plays what can only be called a mournful little dirge. It's a strange sounding song, though not without its merit. I'd love to hear the demo, wondering if Pollard played it on guitar or piano, or simply hummed it. He's credited as the sole songwriter, though it was "arranged and recorded by Chris George from Invert," a New York string quartet (the viola player, Chris Jenkins, is also a member).

It does offer an interesting opening for the EP, segueing nicely into "Circle Saw Boys Club," foreshadowing the tinge of melancholy that inhabits that track.