INDY'S WEEKLY ALTERNATIVE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTING ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Coast to Coast Carpet of Love

Robert Pollard
Merge Records

Three and a half stars

By far the poppier (and better) of Pollard’s two new albums, Coast to Coast Carpet of Love comes off like a slightly looser sequel to last year’s excellent Normal Happiness. Along with his current sidekick, multi-instrumentalist Todd Tobias, Pollard half-smiles his way through 16 songs, 200 hooks and a dying spirit over Carpet’s quickly-passing 37 minutes. As always, a few gems are buried in Pollard’s muck.

Sounds like: Late-era Guided By Voices