Each Robert Pollard album (or Guided by Voices release) features some variation on Pollard's love for melodic pop songs where the roots of punk and psychedelia are somewhere in evidence. Mouseman Cloud is mostly a collection of quick, tuneful scraps: pop aphorisms for a world too busy to focus for too long. In fact, due to the tunes' relatively quick nature, the three songs that do exceed the three-minute mark sound like opuses. The lyrics play out like dream sequences: quick vignettes where the punchlines are woven into the observations of grumpy old men and railings against society's upper crust. The straight new wave guitar chug of "Dr. Time" feels complete despite its one-minute length. The harmonies are full and realized, and only Swearing at Motorists in its prime can challenge Pollard for the title of Rock's Quickest-Song Songwriter. It's lots of the usual hijinks and plenty of fun for those addicted to Pollard's every word.