Ricked Wicky

Ricked Wicky

Swimmer To A Liquid Armchair

GBV Inc

Dayton, Ohio-based supergroup Ricked Wicky pulls off a rarely ventured and even more rarely gained three-peat with its third album—all recorded and released in the span of a year—Swimmer to a Liquid Armchair. The quartet, led by Robert Pollard and seconded mostly by multi-instrumentalist Nick Mitchell, with assists from Kevin March on drums and Todd Tobias on bass, have amped Pollard’s already wildly prolific output to Jason-Statham-in-Crank-2 levels. Swimmer serves up the same gleefully messy prog / punk / pop stew as on the previous two Ricked Wicky releases, but there’s a growing sense of assurance evident on the newest record that indicates Big Things for the future. We draw your attention in particular to “Poor Substitute,” as straightforward a song as Pollard has ever written, emotionally charged, melancholy, executed with rough vigor by the band and sung with unaffected mastery. Contrast this with the following song, which showcases Mitchell’s more polished songwriting approach (and abundant guitar chops) and his vibrant, albeit less elastic, tenor voice. If Guided By Voices, Pollard’s other other band, often bear comparison to the Beatles, Ricked Wicky on occasion calls to mind a kind of lo-fi Blue Öyster Cult, with a touch of early Queen (Mitchell’s slide work on “The Blind Side” recalls Brian May). Those accustomed to more standard Pollardian fare will find plenty to chew on here: the virtuosic wordplay on album opener “What Are All Those Paint Men Digging,” the thumping thug-rock of “Red-Legged Pygmalion,” the epic sweep (in three minutes) of...

Ricked Wicky

Number I Can Trust

GBV Inc

***Two new singles from the upcoming third album from Dayton, Ohio-based supergroup RICKED WICKY. The quartet, led by ROBERT POLLARD and seconded mostly by multi-instrumentalist NICK MITCHELL, with assists from KEVIN MARCH on drums and TODD TOBIAS on bass, have amped Pollard’s already wildly prolific output to Jason-Statham-in-Crank-2 levels. The band serves up the same gleefully messy prog / punk / pop stew as on the previous two Ricked Wicky releases, but there’s a growing sense of assurance evident on the newest record that indicates Big Things for the future.

Ricked Wicky

Poor Substitute

GBV Inc

***Two new singles from the upcoming third album from Dayton, Ohio-based supergroup RICKED WICKY. The quartet, led by ROBERT POLLARD and seconded mostly by multi-instrumentalist NICK MITCHELL, with assists from KEVIN MARCH on drums and TODD TOBIAS on bass, have amped Pollard’s already wildly prolific output to Jason-Statham-in-Crank-2 levels. The band serves up the same gleefully messy prog / punk / pop stew as on the previous two Ricked Wicky releases, but there’s a growing sense of assurance evident on the newest record that indicates Big Things for the future.

Ricked Wicky

King Heavy Metal

GBV Inc

King Heavy Metal, the second release from Robert Pollard’s self-described “supergroup” (tongue practically piercing his cheek with self-deprecating irony), is a hitherto undiscovered species of rainforest songbird capable of changing colors in the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums. At once prog-struck, collagist, technically impressive and melodically complex, King Heavy Metal lives up to and subverts its title over the course of its twelve songs. There’s stuff on here that wouldn’t be out of place on any post-Isolation Drills Guided By Voices album, stuff that wouldn’t be out of place on an alternate-universe mid-’70s Who album, and stuff that’s as lo-fi, booze-addled and sloppy as anything from “classic”-era GBV. Pollard’s determined to establish Ricked Wicky as more than just another solo or side project: it’s a proper, self-contained group with significant contributions, both instrumental and songwriting, from guitarist Nick Mitchell (long time GBV / Pollard stalwart Kevin March supplies drums). Mitchell sings lead on two songs here, both presumably written by him as well: “Imminent Fall From Grace” and “Weekend Worriers.” The latter is a kind of “A Salty Salute” update, with Pollard taking the anthemic first chorus, but Mitchell handling the rest of the vocals. Stranger, but in some ways more interesting, is Mitchell’s other contribution. “Imminent Fall From Grace” contains probably the most straightforward, earnest lyrics ever associated with a Pollard record—and yet, bizarrely, the song fits, and fits well, with the sort of no-fucks-given experimentation on display throughout King Heavy Metal. From the skewed-time-signature stomp (with periodic King Crimson-esque breakdowns) of...

Ricked Wicky

Jargon Of Clones

GBV Inc

Two 7” singles from KING HEAVY METAL, the forthcoming 2nd album by Ricked Wicky, the new project of Guided By Voices’ mastermind Robert Pollard, joined by GBV’s Kevin March (drums), long-time collaborator Todd Tobias (bass) and secret weapon, Nick Mitchell (guitar).    The A-sides are majestic and hook-filled - classic Pollard rock. The non-LP B-sides are written and sung by Mitchell. “Quite Worthy”: power pop / glam rock / 70s AM radio fuel this harmony-laden nod to Joseph Campbell-esque advice to “Follow Your Bliss.”    “Dissonance” is baroque chamber pop, acoustic guitar and cellos, harkening to early Jeff Lynne / Roy Wood.

Ricked Wicky

Tomfoole Terrific

GBV Inc

Two 7” singles from KING HEAVY METAL, the forthcoming 2nd album by Ricked Wicky, the new project of Guided By Voices’ mastermind Robert Pollard, joined by GBV’s Kevin March (drums), long-time collaborator Todd Tobias (bass) and secret weapon, Nick Mitchell (guitar).    The A-sides are majestic and hook-filled - classic Pollard rock. The non-LP B-sides are written and sung by Mitchell. “Quite Worthy”: power pop / glam rock / 70s AM radio fuel this harmony-laden nod to Joseph Campbell-esque advice to “Follow Your Bliss.”    “Dissonance” is baroque chamber pop, acoustic guitar and cellos, harkening to early Jeff Lynne / Roy Wood.

Ricked Wicky

I Sell The Circus

GBV Inc

The first thing the listener will notice about Ricked Wicky is that it is the most musically adept project Guided By Voices’ mage Robert Pollard has undertaken in some time, at least since late period-GBV (Half-Smiles of the Decomposed, for instance), or even Boston Spaceships. “[Ricked Wicky] is a sophisticated arena rock band,” says Pollard, and I Sell the Circus offers in evidence a series of ball-peen hammers to the brain-pan (“Piss Face” with its James Gang-era slide guitar and the proto-punk stomp of “Intellectual Types,” for example) alongside more delicate, prog-tinged Frippery (“Cow-Headed Moon” features Court of the Crimson King-esque mellotron, while the acoustic guitar mastery displayed on “Even Today and Tomorrow” recalls the mellow-era ELP of “Lucky Man”). Credit the players: bolstering the easy mastery of a dizzying array of songwriting forms one naturally expects (and receives) from Pollard are the impressive instrumental prowess of fellow Daytonian Nick Mitchell (“no blood relation to Mitch,” Pollard stresses); multi-instrumentalist and producer Todd Tobias; and “the worldly Kevin March,” (Pollard again) who does double duty these days in Guided By Voices. Fourteen of its fifteen tracks were recorded at Cyberteknics in Dayton, a studio Pollard has come to use with increasing frequency due to its profusion of vintage analog gear. “Rotten Backboards” is as gorgeous and melancholic a tune as Pollard has ever written, and lyrically sounds a note of wistfulness that long-time fans will not find unfamiliar. “She can run, ’cause that’s what I did,” sings Pollard over a sublimely textured background...

Ricked Wicky

Death Metal Kid

GBV Inc

***Extremely limited singles from new Robert Pollard group in advance of their full length. Non-LP b-side!

Ricked Wicky

Mobility

GBV Inc

***Extremely limited singles from new Robert Pollard group in advance of their full length. Non-LP b-side!

Ricked Wicky

Piss Face

GBV Inc

***Extremely limited singles from new Robert Pollard group in advance of their full length. Non-LP b-side!