English Little League is also a collection of some of the best song titles. Everything starts off with Xeno Pariah; a grand entrance and moody intro kicks into the song proper. It is one of those tracks that defies definition to its structure since it's almost verse-less and chorus-less...it just is, and it has Pollard layering on multiple different melodies over fairly simple chords. Half way through, things slow down for a bit and then we get another new melody. Maybe it isn't verse-less and chorus-less; perhaps it is just a bunch of different choruses strung together. Either way, it is a really strong start.
I love how Pollard has a way of writing songs where the song just "falls" into the chorus. No leadup or anything, all of sudden you are just there in a kick ass chorus and then gone again. Both Know Me as Heavy and Flunky Minnows have this trick. I don't think there is anything quite like Know Me as Heavy in GBV canon. With its not-quite in sync backing vocals (that sound a bit like a drunken singalong) and the way the song just slides into the chorus so smoothly is really cool. Flunky Minnows falls into the category of Pollard's effortless hits.
Continuing with this idea of uniqueness on English Little League, Trashcan Full of Nails sways between marching beat guitar/vocals and a softer, almost mystical ballad. I didn't quite like it at first, but over time it has grown on me. Sprout's Quiet Game is a groover where Sprout completely does a fake out and plays with harsher and deeper vocals than we are accustomed to. I had to google what taciturn meant, so Taciturn Caves basically means caves that don't say too much. Another rock opera like track which one expects when GBV nears the four minute mark, the main line when Pollard repeats "you heard me" is the best part of a track that jumps around quite a bit (and it has a killer solo at the end too). With Noble Insect you can just picture the music video with the band playing in some barren wasteland or desert with washed out effects and black and white shots of a sun on the horizon. There is something 90's about Noble Insect with its darker groove, a bit reminiscent of that era's REM. And then with Crybaby 4-Star Hotel Pollard's vocals are matching the guitar rhythm step by step in this fun old school rock anthem.
Songs like Biographer Seahorse always get me. Highly distorted guitars plucking out a pretty melody, clashing a harsh sound with a beautiful one, and it is all glued together with Pollard's singing through an distant echo. Somewhat similar, Send to Celeste (and the Cosmic Athletes) has Pollard singing a soft and beautiful melody in the midst of a wall of distortion that brings us back to what he did with the wonderful Heavy Metal Country from Sunfish Holy Breakfast. Soft over heavy is often a characteristic of Sprout as he continues his solid streak on these classic lineup re-united albums with Island (She Talks in Rainbows) harkening back to higher energy Sprout songs of yore.
Trashcan Full of Nails, Xeno Pariah, Flunky Minnows, Noble Insect, and Islands were all chosen as singles, but the most representative (and arguably overall best) track on English Little League is Birds. Birds captures the somewhat melancholic mood, distorted yet pretty sound, and "just off a bit" nature of the album so well.
At the other end of the spectrum is With Glass in Foot. There is a real dip near the end of English Little League; cut tracks 13-16, and follow Birds with With Glass in Foot and English Little League may have ended up among the most solid, ambitious, and well-produced GBV albums. With Glass in Foot is the most straight-forward rocker on English Little League, and maybe its straight-forwardness is what makes it just a bit disconnected. That being said, it is a solid track.
It seems like Pollard just can't help himself to not include some bits of experimentation or whatever on most albums he puts out, and English Little League is not different. Take out The Sudden Death of Epstein's Ways, Sir Garlic Breath, Reflections in a Metal Whistle, and A Burning Glass, and I would be giving English Little League an average score of 3.53. Whereas the Sprout song in that group I simply find bland, the Pollard trio are all focusing on giving the album some color and focus more on the art (or performance) than on crafting a good song.
In a way English Little League is kind of like an updated take on Under the Bushes Under the Stars in that there is this sadness that permeates through everything, yet it is quite beautiful and rocking. I really dug how the songs were all quite different and unique but still shared a common feel giving the album a defined sound. There are no real hits, however, so that might be where UtBUtS ended up in another level in comparison. Hits or not though, English Little League is a great record.
You can read about the new ranking style here. And without further ado, here is the ranking of English Little League:
Among Bob's Best
-- none
Gems
-- none
Almost Gems
01 Xeno Pariah
07 Noble Insect
10 Biographer Seahorse
11 Flunky Minnows
12 Birds
17 With Glass in Foot
They're Good
02 Know Me as Heavy
03 Island (She Talks in Rainbows)
04 Trash Can Full of Nails
05 Send to Celeste (and the Cosmic Athletes)
06 Quiet Game
09 Crybaby 4-Star Hotel
15 Taciturn Caves
They're OK
13 The Sudden Death of Epstein's Ways
Could Live Without
08 Sir Garlic Breath
14 Reflections in a Metal Whistle
Toss-Offs & Throwaways
16 A Burning Glass
16 A Burning Glass
Given the scoring above, the album would get 5 points total (and an average of 2.94).
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