Taste of Little Italy
Rob Crow Rob Crow
He Thinks He’s People
(Temporary Residence Limited)
Like
Destroyer’s Dan Bejar and Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard, Rob Crow is
one of those rare indie-rock frontmen whose work is difficult to
criticize. Even if you don’t think Pinback—the band for which Crow is
most well-known—is somewhat overrated (I do), you’d still be
hard-pressed to say that they suck. Both that band’s stuff and Crow’s
solo material have been poppy but rhythmically complicated, technically
proficient without being too showy. There’s just nothing particularly
polarizing about the guy; the closest he’s ever gotten to offensiveness
is naming his tongue-in-cheek metal side-project Goblin Cock.
It’s
been four years since the last Pinback album and the last Crow solo
effort, and he’s spent that time having kids and working on myriad side
projects and collaborations. Still, you don’t get any sense from He
Thinks He’s People that Crow has grown much, either as a person or as a
musician. I suspect that his fans like it that way. After all, they can
buy Goblin Cock and Fantasy Mission Force records if they want the
other, more out-there version of the artist.
There’s also a
lingering sense that Crow never wants the listener to take his music too
seriously. Whether it’s the crass drawing on the album cover or songs
like “Pat’s Crabs” or “I’d Like To Be There”—the latter starting with a
humorous rant about people talking on their phones in the movie
theater—the silliness often bogs down otherwise fantastic songs like
“Scalped” and “So Way.” Overall, it’s a clever and spirited set of songs
from a huge talent who’s got nothing more to prove. But after making
music for nearly 20 years, that just might be the one thing holding him
back.
