Doug Gillard "Call From Restricted"

Doug Gillard is best known as the lead guitarist and songwriter in Guided By Voices. An Ohio native, Doug began his solo career with his 2005 debut “Salamander,” but has been in several other bands (Death of Samantha, Gem and Cobra Verde). Doug’s skill and musicianship are impeccable here. Everything that gave GBV a melodic sheen is shown on the opener “Time is Nigh” with steady jangle melody and ascending chords. The title track, “Call from Restricted” has that up-tempo energy and catchy riffage that recall the “Isolation Drills” era. But the crown jewel here is the memorable “For What I’ve Done” – crunching guitar energy that is one of the best garage tunes I’ve heard. It strays from the GBV sound, with “Entwined” sounding a bit like Todd Rundgren’s Utopia. The gentle finger picking style of “Gibraltar” brings to mind Big Star or McCartney at his most wistful. Other highlights include “Gogol Was Rollo” and the “Sun Glow (They Don’t Know)” There are a few spacey excursions (“Without This Light” and “Contractors”) but overall this is a brilliant album. For GBV fans, and if you are getting all of Pollard’s new stuff – then this is a “no-brainer.” Even GBV non-fans will love the variety in tone and pop smarts here. Highly recommended for sure.