Isolation Drills

The band's gritty sound has swelled into a grand sonic landscape, but a closer look shows a pockmarked world existing between the lyrical lines. Pollard's whimsical songwriting takes a turn for the serious on a number of Isolation songs. On "The Brides Have Hit Glass," he laments, "It won't last/ To be on top of your own world/ With no guard rails to cling onto/ You fall so very fast." On "How's My Drinking?" he almost slurs the words about ceasing to care for sobriety as he sings, "I won't change," and coos with the rest of the melody. Isolation is a brilliant mix of uptempo Pollard anthems ("Glad Girls") teetering on the edge of a fractured looking glass. --Jennifer Maerz