Former Pond guitarist/resident eccentric Charlie Campbell is (or was, given that this record was recorded back in the 90's) Goldcard. After years of enduring what Campbell refers to in his blog-like liner notes as peer "harassment" to release the material, the semi-legendary curio is at least seeing the light of day. Those who found Pond to be the acceptable face of the Northwest's grunge b-team will appreciate this former demo tape for what it is: a medicine chest full of expired drugs begging to be taken for a spin. Campbell claims to have to invented a guitar technique he refers to as "the gimmick", a symphonic slide effect that recalls Queen's multi-tracked guitar orchestras. The trick is employed repeatedly here and conjures the Flaming Lips' lysergic squalls and the Teardrop Explodes' tornado of whimsy. It's deployed in the context of Pond songs that never swam to shore ("Didn't Feel A Thing"), bedsit recordings as charming as naked baby pictures (the insane "Birthday") and tracks created in fractured partnership with Grandaddy ("Rabbit") and Quasi (most of the rest of the album). Campbell's listening party for this record featured an in-store apperance in a specially constructed box; fans could only communicate with him through a slot. To judge from Goldcard's claustrophic composition, this is as apt a metaphor for this latter-day librarian's hermetic career as you could ever contrive.

Corey DuBrowa