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Album Details

• Artist: Go Back Snowball
• Album: Calling Zero
• Label: Fading Captain / Luna
• Year of Release: 2002
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2003-03-30

Now isn’t this something different. Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan teaming up with Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices for a collaboration strangely entitled Go Back Snowball. While not completely left-field, this does raise a few questions. Mac has been collaborating quite a bit as of late. Ken Vandermark was the last one and now Pollard. Is Mac getting bored with Superchunk? Robert Pollard we have come to expect this. Spitting out albums of pop bliss every month. I’m sure that he must hold some record for most recorded and release material. Go Back Snowball has a certain charm to it seeing that they never really stepped foot into the same studio. Yup, Mac handled all the instrumentation in his studio in North Carolina (similar arrangements to some Superchunk material but more like Portastatic) and Pollard did all the vocal material at Cro-Magnon Studios in Dayton OH. You really can’t go wrong with this sort of talent. Even if they never really sat down together to plan anything. McCaughan was able to lay down some clever instrumentals and Robert weaves his charming voice over the layers. There is a nice variety of material here and any fan of either musician will not be disappointed. The only thing I would have liked to have heard was Mac voice on a few tracks. I find it very interesting that something this spontaneous could end up sounding so wonderful. Go Back Snowball – Calling Zero is bound to end up on some Top of 2002 lists.

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