Robert Pollard has called the epic 2011 double-LP Let It Beard ''a subconscious concept album about the sorry state of Rock 'n' Roll.''  A 75-minute thrill ride through the many forms Pollard has mastered in his three-plus decades of writing and recording, it's ''the White Album meets Quadrophenia meets Jesus Christ Superstar,'' in his words. Let It Beard features strings, horns, keyboards, a female soul singer and guest turns from such luminaries as Colin Newman from Wire, J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr, Steve Wynn from the Dream Syndicate, Mick Collins from The Dirtbombs, Dave Rick from Phantom Tollbooth and Mitch Mitchell from Guided By Voices.