Jar of Jam Ton of Bricks

VINYL FORMAT. The latest collaboration project from Robert Pollard comes with a bit of a twist: Pollard hooked up with another indie rock icon, Richard Davies (The Moles, Cardinal), to form the band Cosmos. To round out the ensemble, Davies enlisted some of his Massachusetts merry men to assist with the music, including David Minehan (The Neighborhoods) and Malcolm Travis (Human Sexual Response, Sugar).

On Jar of Jam Ton of Bricks , the vocal duties are split between the two heavyweights: Pollard takes lead on eight songs, Davies on four. The album flows back and forth between atmospheric acoustic sounds with great Pollard melodies on top ("Sudden Storms Are Normal," "Just by Pushing a Button") to all-out pop rockers ("Nude Metropolis," "Westward Ho"), and concludes with a bang with the emotionally charged Davies-sun tune "Hail Mary."