The Takeovers: Little Green Onion Man (2008)

The Takeovers are quickly becoming one of the best Pollard-related side-projects. The duo of Robert Pollard and Chris Slusarenko bring together much of what made early GBV so great; (as stated in my roundup of the first Takeover's album) "instant classics, thrown in half-finished ideas, total toss-offs, and decent tracks, all mixed together to form an album greater than the sum of its parts." So it doesn't really surprise me that my favorite Takeovers album is actually a four song EP. Not only does it only have four songs, but one of them is on the last Takeovers album (Bad Football), and another is a alternate version of a track from their first (Turn to Red). But the real treat is just how great the other two songs are...


The EP's title track, Little Green Onion Man was described on my entry of Bad Football as "wonderfully strange..., (it) a) gets its own EP, b) contains the words "bad football", c) has a great riff throughout the verses, and d) includes one of Pollard's stranger vocals. It is a standout, but not even among the album's three best tracks." However, in the context of this strange little EP, Little Green Onion Man seems more at home, and is a stronger track overall.

The other revisited track is Wig Stomper 07, a heavier version of the "toss-off" from Turn to Red. In fact, the original was a voice mail message. To hear a voice mail message fleshed out into an actual song is pretty cool.

The highlights of the EP are the other two tracks, Rich Man's Girl and Instigator. Rich Man's Girl starts off sounding like a lo-fi boombox recording, but then blends into a full out studio sounding track (well...that is a bit of a stretch...but check it out and you'll see what I mean). The simple chorus of "she's calling out" is just beautiful, and the overall tone of the track is dark. As for Instigator, I love this song! Everything from its fun bass beat to the cheap organ sound is brilliant. Pollard's melody is perfect, and I'm quite confident if I were somehow able to produce a single-disc "Best of Pollard", Instigator would be on it!

This EP is a must have, mostly because it includes one of my new favorite songs, Instigator. I find the disc is excellent to listen to on late night drives through the city, due in large part to its oddness and darkness. Its my favorite release from The Takeovers thus far, and I can't wait for the next one!

Tracklisting (songs in bold make the playlist):
01 Little Green Onion Man
02 Rich Man's Girl
03 Wig Stomper '07
04 Instigator