Eric Pollard is one of the finest drummers I have had the pleasure of meeting. After seeing Retribution Gospel Choir play an incredible show at St Matthews Church, I went up to shake his hand and talk briefly about Halifax, other acts he plays for (Sun Kill Moon for one) and general small talk. He was very nice, soft spoken, and polite. You would never think he was such an animal on the drums.
His playing is fairly cymbal heavy (They Knew You Well and Breaker especially) but because of the lo-fi drum sound it's never too over bearing. His rhythm on Take Your Time is pretty unique and universal. It could work in Hip Hop or Jazz with just a few adjustments.
The best part of his playing on this record however, is his drum rolls. He seems to squeeze in more hits than you think is possible. It always feels like he's never going to come out of it on time and them BAM he nails it. The end of Take Your Time has the best one towards the end, it sounds like a train blowing by.
Live he is even more powerful, working in crazy bursts of energy between his rhythms (like the end of Holes In Our Heads, but on every song). I had thought I had seen everything, but I had never seen anyone play drums like him before. Once everyone realizes how great this record is, I'm sure people will start trying.
Audio/Visual evidence: This is the only decent live clip I could find (everything else sounded too shitty), this one sounds shitty too, but at least the camera is on Eric most of the time.
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