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New Guided By Voices record

Started by Famous Mortimer, April 30, 2021, 03:29:15 PM

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Famous Mortimer

I know I could make this thread in pretty much any month of any year since 1986 or so and it would be accurate, but for some reason my phone gave me a notification of this, this morning.

https://guidedbyvoices.bandcamp.com/album/earth-man-blues

The "classic" lineup isn't around any more, which I also only just discovered, but their new stuff sounds decent! Robert Pollard also did a 7" under the name Cub Scout Bowling Pins a few months ago, and GBV did three albums last year, none of which I was aware of either.

I think on reflection I prefer their first decade or so's stuff, but it's great they're so prolific and it's not like their new stuff is bad or boring or anything.  Have a listen, why don't you?

Pauline Walnuts

I did see a review of a Guided By Voices album that consisted solely of a line graph with the albums on the X axis and the average track length on the Y.

Of the 5 albums of theirs I've heard, I was unable to remember a single track, so I thought that was fair assessment.


purlieu

I liked the two singles so I'm grabbing a copy. I've been gradually playing catch-up with the new stuff, but I'm still on the classic lineup reunion period. Their level of output in the last ten years has been ludicrous, especially if you consider Bob was doing a bunch of solo albums and side-projects for a while too.

Nothing's going to beat the run from Propeller to Under the Bushes Under the Stars, but every era has a fair amount to recommend it. It has a bit of a bad rap in some circles, but their first comeback album Let's Go Eat the Factory is maybe my favourite outside that classic run of albums, and 2002's Universal Truths and Cycles is a real gem, so there's always something great that comes along regardless of the lineup.

The fact that it's taken until the end of April for their first 2021 album to come out means we might not end up with three records this year, for the first time since 2018.

I reckon I would've been really into this lot in my 20s but no longer have the patience to wade through albums of filler in order to find the good stuff, which is a shame as I've liked some GBV that I've heard. They appear to average about 20 tracks per album but I suppose they wouldn't be GBV if they had some quality control and an editor

Egyptian Feast

I liked the sticker on one of his solo albums from a few years back: 'First album in over three months!' LOL

I haven't listened to any since The Bears for Lunch which is probably around 50 albums ago.

markburgle

My last GBV phase ran out of steam with Mirrored Aztec, the middle record of 2020, which I thought was mostly shit apart from the one old revived song on it. One before that, Surrender Your Poppyfield, was ace (mostly filler free!). Haven't heard Styles We Paid For which came after but the single from this new one sounded good

purlieu

Quote from: Nice Relaxing Poo on April 30, 2021, 06:37:22 PM
I reckon I would've been really into this lot in my 20s but no longer have the patience to wade through albums of filler in order to find the good stuff, which is a shame as I've liked some GBV that I've heard. They appear to average about 20 tracks per album but I suppose they wouldn't be GBV if they had some quality control and an editor
To be fair, half of those 20 are about a minute long.
Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes and Under the Bushes Under the Stars are the three I'd recommend for anyone wanting to step into their catalogue but too afraid because of the huge number of releases and songs. Those three are pretty consistent, even the nonsense 30 second tracks being pretty solid. Outside that, it becomes a game in itself as much as simply listening to albums.
Quote from: Egyptian Feast on April 30, 2021, 06:48:54 PM
I haven't listened to any since The Bears for Lunch which is probably around 50 albums ago.
That's the last one I bought, which makes us both 13 albums + 2 EPs + one Suitcase behind (plus a handful of b-sides). I've heard some stuff since, but getting around to buying it all is time, money and effort. I once planned on buying all of Bob and Tobin's side projects, but on last calculation that was 87 albums, and... no.

Egyptian Feast

Quote from: purlieu on April 30, 2021, 07:59:31 PM
That's the last one I bought, which makes us both 13 albums + 2 EPs + one Suitcase behind (plus a handful of b-sides).

Only that many? Who does he think he is, Kate Bush?

Paaaaul

Quote from: markburgle on April 30, 2021, 07:31:18 PM
My last GBV phase ran out of steam with Mirrored Aztec, the middle record of 2020, which I thought was mostly shit apart from the one old revived song on it. One before that, Surrender Your Poppyfield, was ace (mostly filler free!). Haven't heard Styles We Paid For which came after but the single from this new one sounded good
Mirrored Aztec is the only recent album that I don't like. The two since then are much better. They've both been recorded remotely, so there's a really different, more composed, sound to them.

From the recent albums, I would put Warp & Woof, Zeppelin Over China and Space Gun up with their very best. The new one sounds very good, but it often takes a few months for a new GBV album to settle in my mind.

Paaaaul

Quote from: purlieu on April 30, 2021, 06:05:24 PM
The fact that it's taken until the end of April for their first 2021 album to come out means we might not end up with three records this year, for the first time since 2018.
There is a Cub Scout Bowling Pins album due in July. That band is GBV, but with a different name. Comfortably on target for three+ albums this year.

Key

Quote from: Paaaaul on April 30, 2021, 10:01:09 PM
Mirrored Aztec is the only recent album that I don't like. The two since then are much better. They've both been recorded remotely, so there's a really different, more composed, sound to them.

From the recent albums, I would put Warp & Woof, Zeppelin Over China and Space Gun up with their very best. The new one sounds very good, but it often takes a few months for a new GBV album to settle in my mind.

I agree with this sentiment. The best albums from this current phase are Warp & Woof, Space Gun and ZoC. August By Cake is worth a listen for all the surprisingly decent songs by the rest of the band.
I thought Mirrored Aztec and Sweating The Plague were misfires. Big fan but dont really have the time or inclination to sift thru the side projects and stuff. Apparently there is also a subscription service where Bob has already released around 900 songs this year.

sevendaughters

last one I listened to was Motivational Jumpsuit, which I liked, but it is so hard to keep up with Pollard so I need threads like this. there's a great Tobin Sprout song on it called 'Jupiter Spin' that I heartily recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDfI59euLQg

Paaaaul

Quote from: Key on May 01, 2021, 09:00:09 AM
Apparently there is also a subscription service where Bob has already released around 900 songs this year.
It's called Hot Freaks, and it has been both fascinating and overwhelming.
We're now in week 50 of 52, and every Tuesday a new GBV/Pollard release hits my inbox - usually a full album. It's been a mixture of unreleased albums, live shows covering the band's whole career, full demo albums, radio shows and previews of upcoming releases.
It has been mostly excellent stuff, but it has affected the amount of other music that I have listened to in the last year.

markburgle

Wow I did not know there were whole unreleased albums in the Hot Freaks stuff, although I shouldn't be surprised.

Agree that Sweating was a misfire (apart from a great opening track and one or two others). Zeppelin - like nearly every other double album ever - shoulda been a single. Worth mentioning that Cub Scout Bowling pins works under a different MO to GBV, with all the tracks being co-written by the whole band.

Warp and Woof I find very frustrating, because in principle it sounds great - this line-up departing from their usual MO of carefully produced mid tempo mid-length rockers to bash out an album of scrappy, lo-fi, playful tunes. There's some catchy riffs and the energy level is high, but listen closer and most of the songs aren't that great. Except My Angel, which puts the rest of it to shame

purlieu

Here's a list of the contents of the first 36 Hot Freaks releases:
https://www.gbvdb.com/hotfreaks.asp