In 2012, under his new pseudonym, Actual Wolf self released the EP Lightning and the Wolf, which featured vocals by Haley Bonar. This led to a residency at the Turf Club and a show on the main stage at First Avenue in Minneapolis. He placed sixth on the annual "Picked to Click" list by the Twin Cities alternative weekly City Pages.[6]
In 2013 Actual Wolf released an eponymous full-length debut on the Chaperone record label.[8] Once his probationary restrictions were lifted he moved to Nashville to continue his music career.[9] While in Nashville Pollard returned to his roots as an instrumental sideman, touring and recording with the likes of Nikki Lane[10] and JP Harris.
2015 saw the release of the cassette-only collection of Actual Wolf songs Itasca, the title of which refers to Itasca County.[1] Shortly afterward, Actual Wolf relocated to Oakland, California, to pursue work in the burgeoning legal medical marijuana industry while still continuing his songwriting/musical career.
In 2016 Actual Wolf began work on his second full-length, self-produced LP, Faded Days, with Minnesota-based musicians Jeremy Hanson of Tapes 'n Tapes, Jacob Hanson, Steve Garrington (bass player of low), vocalist Al Church and Nashville pedal steel player Ditch Kurtz. The album was released in 2017 on the Red House Records label.[2][3] During this period Pollard was still living in Oakland. It was there that he began to assemble a regular full-time touring band, eventually recruiting Bay Area lead guitarist Misisipi Mike Wolf, pedal steel player Ian Taylor Sutton,[11] keyboardist Kirby Hammel (formerly a touring member of Sun Kil Moon), drummer Andrew Griffin (Cake, Camper Van Beethoven)[12][13] and bassist Ted O'Connell.