2014, EP, miscellaneous, music, news, thoughts

Video: Squarepusher w/Z-Machines – “Music For Robots”

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I had this thought pop into my head for no reason at all this afternoon. I was imagining myself as teaching a one-on-one music composition lesson, just like the ones that I used to have on a weekly basis when I was an undergrad. I was thinking about what the first thing that I would say to a first-time student would be, as I still remember my first lesson, and there are some things that I know now that I wish I had known then, that I wish someone would have told me long ago.

What I came up with was, “Ok, the first thing that you have to realize is this: everything has been done already.” I do believe this is true, and I think that for someone that is just starting out writing music that is an important thing to hear. Just practice and get better, develop your voice and everything will fall into place, don’t spend all your time (or any time for that matter) trying to convince people of how brilliant you are.

Then I happened upon an email from Warp Records touting the forthcoming Squarepusher EP. Of course I was excited. I love Squarepusher, even being lucky enough to have seen him perform live this past Summer. The man is a genius, and a virtuoso instrumentalist. His sound is recognizable  from only a few pitches.

According to the man himself:
“In this project the main question I’ve tried to answer is ‘can these robots play music that is emotionally engaging?’

I have long admired the player piano works of Conlon Nancarrow and Gyorgy Ligeti. Part of the appeal of that music has to do with hearing a familiar instrument being ‘played’ in an unfamiliar fashion. For me there has always been something fascinating about the encounter of the unfamiliar with the familiar. I have long been an advocate of taking fresh approaches to existing instrumentation as much as I am an advocate of trying to develop new instruments, and being able to rethink the way in which, for example, an electric guitar can be used is very exciting.

Each of the robotic devices involved in the performance of this music has its own specification which permits certain possibilities and excludes others – the robot guitar player for example can play much faster than a human ever could, but there is no amplitude control. In the same way that you do when you write music for a human performer, these attributes have to be borne in mind – and a particular range of musical possibilities corresponds to those attributes. Consequently, in this project familiar instruments are used in ways which till now have been impossible.”
Sure, that’s all well and good, but while I was listening to the track my question of “why?” just never went away. The composition is undoubtedly Squarepusher. Everything about it has his voice all over it. But, it’s just off. It just doesn’t sound quite right. Sure his character is in those notes, but the personality is gone. The personality and delicate shading of timbres that, yes, are still possible (and noticeable!) in electronic music, are replaced with rigidity and coldness. Sure, robots can play anything, absolutely anything. I would argue the “emotionally engaging” part though. How can music engage someone emotionally if all of those subtle shadings, the things that are impossible to notate, and impossible to mimic verbatim, and utterly, unmistakably human have been extracted?

Sure, they are playing live instruments. The human, emotional element doesn’t lie in the instruments. Even someone that composes pure, fixed media electronic music, needs to finesse that music so that there is a human connection. They take the machines, and the computers and they sand down (so to speak) what makes them sound like machines. The human element is inserted, it’s not something that just comes out through notes and rhythms.

Yes, it is fun to hear (and watch) music be performed by robots. It’s not an original idea though. The simple answer to the question is, I don’t think that the music created by these robots is emotionally engaging at all. Intellectually engaging, sure, but after about 30 seconds of the stolid, precise rhythms and the wind-up music box timbres, I was done.

Why bother with the robots if you can pull the stuff off yourself?

“Music for Robots” will be released April 8th digitally, on CD and vinyl. Pre-orders from Bleep and iTunes will come with a download of “Sad Robot Goes Funny.”

2014, Bandcamp, EP, music

Stream: Chat Logs – “Am I Right, or Am I Right?”

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I know that I have mentioned before of my recent conversion over to the cult of the cassette tape. This has lead to some great discoveries, of course forcing me to ask the question, “What have I been keeping myself from for the past couple of years?”

It was through another tape purchase that I discovered the band Chat Logs. Maybe part of my love for this batch of songs is partly because of the element of surprise. I wasn’t planning on buying this album, didn’t even know that it existed, and now I have it here with me

What I got was an aggressive bass assault with grinding guitars and menacing vocals. The perpetual, circular bass-line of “Eat Your Heart Out” is intermittently interrupted by a heavily echoed, distorted and pitch shifted guitar that’s doing it’s best interpretation of a blues break, but is run through a experimental noise-rock filter. And many of the songs take on a similar structure, with persistent bass holding everything together while the guitars and vocals buzz, screech and echo all around it.

“Am I Right, Or Am I Right?” clocks in at just over 19 minutes with its 4 tracks, the perfect EP length. Personal favorite “Mooks” is mostly instrumental (or at least has a lengthy instrumental break in the middle) with a great winding lead guitar line that sounds like a more unrestrained Constantines track.

The album is available now through Already Dead Records and Tapes, a limited run, specialty press label run out of Chicago that is absolutely worth checking out for fans of sometimes obscure, experimental, electronic, hard-edged garage and all other genres in between.

2014, albums, Bandcamp, music

Stream: Purling Hiss s/t 2009 limited edition re-release

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Ultra distorted, lo-fi psych punk. That just about sums it up.

If you know anything about Purling Hiss, and Permanent Records that originally put this album out back in ’09, it’s that they are both synonymous with fuzzed out, lo-fi (sometimes to an extreme) psych/stoner garage rock.

This recording is overblown, in the red nearly the entire time, really capturing the energy and immediacy of a debut release. Since this album came out 5 years ago Purling Hiss has gone on to release tons of stuff on other labels like Woodsist and Drag City to name a few. Purling Hiss has gone from the solo project of Mike Polizze to becoming a full-fledged band, jamming non-stop on endless tours across the country.

“Almost Washed My Hair” lays out an 8 minute guitar solo over static harmony that explores almost every classic rock guitar idiom known to man while simultaneously slicing through squeals of feedback and an incessant wash crash cymbals. “Montage Mountain” takes the noise element up a few hundred notches, with guitars bleating and screaming wildly, trying to find their place. Both tunes stretch on for what seems like an indefinite period, again, just a noise, feedback jam session. And I didn’t even bring up the track “Purple Hiss,” the longest on the album, clocking in at 14 and a half minutes.

And now that we have a better idea of what Purling Hiss sounds like in their current incarnation-specifically a Sabbath influenced, stoner rock guitar riffage band-it’s interesting to be able to hear where that all started. Head on over to the Permanent Records site to grab one of the limited edition cassettes or vinyl while you can, as I’m sure they aren’t going to last very long. If you miss out, you can still head to their bandcamp and get in on the download.

Purchase LP (limited to 250)//Purchase Cassette (Limited to 100!)//

2014, Bandcamp, EP, miscellaneous, music, news

Stream: Fuzz/CCR Headcleaner 7″

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First of all let’s just get out of the way that the opening guitar chords that jerkily shift up and down the fretboard sound an awful lot like (read: exactly like) those of “Bubblegum,” the Kim Fowley track that I, and I’m sure many others, came to know through the Sonic Youth cover that appeared as a bonus track on the CD version of their 1986 release, “Evol.” Well, this is a cover too. Ty & Co. are offering up “Till The End of the Day,” originally by The Kinks. Ty and crew definitely do their best to soup it up as much as possible.

I’m glad that Ty is continuing to release more stuff with Fuzz. He’s really been tearing it up lately, and I think this incarnation of his writing process is his best yet. Similar garage rock sound, but Fuzz moves more toward the stoner-ish, jammy end of the spectrum due to Charlie Moothart’s virtuosic interjections, than his solo stuff (which has been more on the sad-bastard side of things lately). “Till The End of the Day” is a two minute barn-burner blasting through your speakers at light speed and never stopping to rest.

The B-side to this limited 7″ release features the slow, enveloping sound of CCR Headcleaner. Their track “Free the Freaks” stomps through with a mix of distorted guitars with clean steel strings in equal measure; with requisite vocals buried below the surface and left to echo in the distance.

The 7″ is available for order now for $6.60, while the 2 tracks are available as a download for “name your own price.” Don’t be cheap, and here is why:
100% of the digital proceeds going to the Ariel Panero Memorial Fund at VH1 Save the Music – a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America’s public schools.
Bandcamp//
2014, albums, miscellaneous, music, personal, thoughts

In Memoriam Sonic Youth XIII: “Sonic Nurse”

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I have Sonic Nurse on vinyl. Not that this is something that is particularly novel, it isn’t by any means. The truth is I have a ton of SY vinyl, early stuff, rare stuff, the SYR recordings etc. The reason that I think of Sonic Nurse as an album that I have on vinyl is because the digital copy that I have I recorded directly from that vinyl to my computer, and I am reminded of that every time that I listen to it.

In 2004 the common practice of “download code inside” that we all take for granted now, was not the case so much back then. And by “not so much the case” I mean that it wasn’t at all the case. So this was maybe one of the first times that I had bought an album brand new, without having heard it first, on vinyl. Anyway, the sound of my digital files is pretty bad. It’s tinny, thin, nasal, too quiet. Basically I didn’t know what I was doing when I ripped it to my computer. I still listen to it this way though. I’ve gotten used to it and I kind of like it this way now.

But the truth is, I didn’t actually buy this album until a few years after it came out. I got Rather Ripped and then went back to Sonic Nurse after I realized that there was an album out there that I didn’t have. I’m glad that I did because there are a lot of great tracks on here. “Pattern Recognition” starting it off, with its lengthy noise freak-out at the end is so great to hear after not getting too much of it in the past couple of albums.

Of course Jim O’Rourke was still in the band at this time, which means there was some more interesting guitar interplay throughout the album. Things really take off with songs like “Stones” and “New Hampshire,” though. Dense layers of melodic interplay that more closely resemble some sort of free-jazz improv session than they do anything else that Sonic Youth has attempted before. Sure, their stuff has always had an element of noise and experimentation to it (that’s why we’re here, isn’t it?) but when 3 different guitarists start attacking the same patch of silence all at once, coming at it from completely different angles, all spreading out and crossing over top of each other, well that sounds different than the usual blasts of noise and feedback that we’ve been getting.

Interludes that feature melodies that closely resemble real-life actual guitar solos like in “Unmade Bed” start to appear, and really add an interesting dynamic to the staid gestures that the band has been adhering to for the past couple of decades.

What’s funny about writing this is that my memories of getting to know this album are continuing to this day. It wasn’t really all that long ago that the album came out, barely 10 years now, and I’m pretty much still continuing on down the same path that I was starting out on when this album came out in 2004. Back then I was in the 2nd year of my undergraduate program, and now I’m in the 3rd year of a doctoral program, with only a little break in between. So in a way I’m still coming to know this album little by little. Sadly I know that I tend to neglect it in favor of Rather Ripped or some of the classic stuff.

I have been thinking though, as I listen to this and the albums that come after it, about Kim and Thurston. Now that it is 2014, and they have been separated or divorced or whatever for a few years now, how far back did what lead to that start? And what lyrics or songs would indicate that a separation was in the works? Does it go all the way back to Murray Street? Does it start here, or on Rather Ripped? There may have to be some pretty detailed lyrical analysis to figure it all out.

Either way, listening to this album I’m just thankful that the band decided to continue on the path that they returned to on Murray Street.

Lots of things were starting to come to an end, not only Kim and Thurston’s marriage, but also the band itself. They would leave DGC after releasing Rather Ripped two years after Sonic Nurse, and only one more non-SYR album in 2009. At this point in their career, and at this point in my being a fan, Sonic Youth was just a given. I thought that it was a pretty safe bet that we would be getting albums from them well into the next decade, that they would never stop, and it would just be something that went on in perpetuity.

I guess I was wrong.

2014, week in review

Week in Review: February 10th-14th, 2014

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Here’s what went up on the blog last week in case you missed it:

Monday: Continuing on down the Sonic Youth trail. Coming up to the final chapters soon with “Murray Street” this week. Only a few more to go.

In Memoriam Sonic Youth XII: “Murray Street”

Tuesday: There’s a new Guided By Voices album, “Motivational Jumpsuit,” set to be released this coming Tuesday, February 18th.

Guided By Voices – “Motivational Jumpsuit”

Wednesday: Take a listen to Nothing’s “Guilty of Everything” with its  90’s, Smashing Pumpkins and Hum reminiscent sound.

Stream: Nothing – “Guilty of Everything”

Thursday: Stream FIM’s super fun, synth driven psychedelic new-wave “Alien Beach Party.” Limited vinyl still available.

Stream: FIM – “Alien Beach Party”

Friday: You’ve probably already been listening to this by now, but I couldn’t not write about it any longer. It’s the latest from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. “Wig Out At Jagbags” is out now, and the band has just begun an expansive U.S. tour.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – “Wig Out At Jagbags”

2014, albums, news

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – “Wig Out At Jagbags”

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For some reason there are some albums that I listen to a lot, but refuse to write about. I think that sometimes I just want to try to focus writing on bands and artists that aren’t getting much (or in some cases ANY coverage anywhere else), but I also listen to a lot of music every day, and I develop obsessions with albums that last for months at a time.

One of the albums that I’ve been stopping myself from writing about is the latest offering from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks. This was probably the first significant release of the new year, and also the first album that I started listening to on a daily basis.

Unfortunately Malkmus is never going to be able to escape the shadow of Pavement, and his solo efforts are always going to be compared to their brilliant albums that have reached the heights of required listening to all up and coming indie music fans. I think that “Wig Out At Jagbags” is just as solid a release as his past solo efforts, each of which should be considered outside the bias that inevitably happens when reviewing his work against that of Pavement.

Lead single “Lariat” is more radio-friendly and just more welcoming in general than some of the more angular material that can be found on “Pig Lib” and “Mirror Traffic.” It seems as though Malkmus is more comfortable indulging his proggier side with a few additive rhythms here and there, some odd phrase structures, maybe a few dropped bars; he’s tinkering with form. Take for example “Houston Hades.” That opening (after the noisy intro) that goes on to become the textless chorus, features a bit of hypermetric irregularity. By that I mean that he’s shifting the measures around 4/4 + 2/4 + 4/4 + 2/4, which all adds up to 2 full bars of common time, but the accents are shifted around. That idea carries through to the outro section as well.

Malkmus’ songs make shifts like this, and all sorts of other aberrations of typical structures, sound smooth, and they are hardly noticeable unless you really make an effort to focus a bit on them. The buzzing, sustained guitar lead line that opens the album is placed over one such aberration, with the rhythm section chugging along in a protracted additive rhythm that blends right into the first verse. Sure, it sounds a touch off-kilter, but it is certainly not the focus of the section.

What I find particularly interesting about the songs, on this album as well as on past solo efforts, are Malkmus’ lyrics. Words strung together that partly resemble free association, followed by internal rhymes, allusion, word play and assonance (check out the line that leads into the titular line on “Independence Street” for example). At first listen it might just sound as though the words are thrown down as he sings them, without a care. The truth is is that his lyrics are regularly brilliantly constructed. It’s poetry done right, all of which is sung (with terrific prosody, mind you) in a natural, almost conversational delivery.

Well, I guess I take that back. Lyrics aren’t always delivered as such in every song. In fact, on “J Smoov” Malkmus does his best blue-eyed soul, singing in falsetto, supported by horns with the guitar pared down significantly.

Standout tracks, for me though, have to be “Chartjunk” and “Cinnamon and Lesbians,” the former of which features more use of horns, some rolling, bouncy guitar work and 3-part backing harmonies. “Cinnamon and Lesbians” is just a fun tune with a great deal of the aforementioned wordplay (as is the track “Scattegories” that precedes it), and of course it also has a (terrible) video that interprets each of the lyrics literally.

Malkmus has more tunes than he even knows what to do with. He makes everything sound so effortless and carefree, but if you dig a little bit it’s plain to hear that there is a lot of attention to detail within every line of every song. “Wig Out At Jagbags” came out last month on Matador and they just started the North American leg of their tour a few days ago, so make sure to get out there and see SM and Jicks. Apparently they are going with the hashtag #wigoutacrossamerica

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks “Wig Out Across America”

Fri Feb 14, 2014
Columbia, MO | Mojo’s |

Sat Feb 15, 2014
St. Louis | Old Rock House |

Sun Feb 16, 2014
Omaha | The Waiting Room |  *

Tue Feb 18, 2014
Minneapolis | Cedar Cultural Center |  *

Wed Feb 19, 2014
Madison | High Noon Saloon |  *

Thu Feb 20, 2014
Chicago | Lincoln Hall |  +

Fri Feb 21, 2014
Ferndale, MI | The Loving Touch |  +

Sat Feb 22, 2014
Toronto | Lee’s Palace |  +

Sun Feb 23, 2014
Montreal | Cafe Campus |  +

Tue Feb 25, 2014
Boston | Paradise |  +

Wed Feb 26, 2014
NYC | Bowery |  +

Thu Feb 27, 2014
Brooklyn | Music Hall of Williamsburg |  %

Fri Feb 28, 2014
Washington DC | Black Cat |  %

Sat Mar 1, 2014
Philadelphia | Theatre of Living Arts |  %

Mon Mar 3, 2014
Carrboro | Cat’s Cradle |  #

Tue Mar 4, 2014
Atlanta | Terminal West |  #

Wed Mar 5, 2014
Birmingham | Bottletree |  #

Thu Mar 6, 2014
New Orleans | The Parish @ HOB |  #

Fri Mar 7, 2014
Houston | Fitzgerald’s Upstairs |  #

Sun Mar 9, 2014
Dallas | Granada |  #

Sat Mar 15, 2014
Portland | Star Theater |

Thu Mar 27, 2014
San Francisco | Slim’s |  &

Fri Mar 28, 2014
Los Angeles | El Rey |  &

Sat Mar 29, 2014
San Diego | Casbah |  &

Sun Mar 30, 2014
Pioneertown, CA | Pappy and Harriet’s |  &

Tue Apr 1, 2014
Phoenix | Crescent Ballroom |  &

Wed Apr 2, 2014
Las Vegas | Beauty Bar |  &

Thu Apr 3, 2014
Salt Lake City | Urban Lounge |  &

Sat Apr 5, 2014
Missoula | Top Hat |  &

Mon Apr 7, 2014
Calgary | Republik |  &

Tue Apr 8, 2014
Edmonton | Starlite Room |  &

Thu Apr 10, 2014
Vancouver | Rickshaw Theatre |  &

Fri Apr 11, 2014
Victoria | Lucky Bar |  &

Sat April 12, 2014
Seattle | Neptune |  &

( * with Tyvek)
(+ with Disappears)
(% with Endless Boogie)
(# with Purling Hiss)
( with Sun Foot)
(& with Speedy Ortiz)

2014, Bandcamp, EP, music, reviews

Stream: FIM – “Alien Beach Party”

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It’s rough out there, trying to find an audience and undoubtedly getting lost in the shuffle with the approximately 10,000 other bands that release music at a steady pace every day. The internet is jammed full of mediocrity parading as proficiency via PR savvy, and giant bands that manage to focus all eyes on them whenever they so much as hint at the possibility that they are going to be doing something in the future (ie Arcade Fire’s incredibly redundant advertising campaign for their latest overhyped album).

So sometimes things that are really worthwhile are released quietly, buried under the aforementioned pile of mediocrity and lost. Thankfully some of those releases get an extra push after a while, allowing them a chance to resurface, gaining back some of the attention that they deserve.

FIM’s “Alien Beach Party” is one such release. The 12″ EP initially came out back in early June of 2013, but is available now for purchase on limited editioin vinyl (yes, it’s still available), or download (name your own price).

Even though everything that I’ve read about the band makes use of the “psychedelic” designation, I am going to have to respectfully disagree with such labeling. To me, as far as the lead track “Fast Cars” goes, there is definitely more of a pronounced new wave/dancey vibe to it. Dark synths that sound more like old Casios than analog synths, drum machine, and off-kilter vocals really make that track sound like something straight out of the early 80s.

FIM
FIM

When the bass picks up on “Shit God Dam,” throwing down some aggressive, minimalist proto-punk bass in combination with the drum machine now taking a turn toward Big Black territory we can hear the band moving away from that new wave sound a bit. Maybe it’s a little less catchy than “Fast Cars,” but it features a bit heavier on the harmonic and melodic dissonance, which is a good thing.

The remainder of the EP features similar branching out, from the bedroom production of “Believe,” that may be trippy, but “psychedelic” still does not come to mind. And closing the album, the “Flaming Lips” ala “Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon”-esque 6 minute synth jam just takes everything in a whole wonderful new , and somewhat unsuspected direction.

So, they have already proven themselves worthy by rising up through all the noise of the oversaturation running rampant in indie-music today. The good news is that you don’t have to wait, or pre-order the EP, it’s out now. Check it out in full above and then head to the bandcamp page.

FIM has a show coming up at the end of the month, if you are in or around their hometown area of L.A. then get down to The Satellite on February 24th to check them out. Many links below:

Web//Facebook//Bandcamp//Twitter//SoundCloud//Youtube

2014, albums, Bandcamp, music, reviews

Stream: Nothing – “Guilty of Everything”

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Add another band to the list of “ungoogle-able bands.” They’re in good company though. I mean, Women is one of my favorite bands of all time and they are tricky/impossible to do a google search on.

So many thoughts and memories came rushing to mind as soon as I started listening to this Nothing album. Shoegaze is, to start off generally, one of the first and most noticeable characteristics of Nothing’s sound.  But it’s not all just a My Bloody Valentine cloud of distortion. Inside that wall is a concentrated core that contains so many recognizable elements.

Hum, The Smashing Pumpkins, Longwave, all of these emerge from Nothing (the more I mention the band by name the more it sounds like I am making some lofty philosophical statement: “they all emerge from Nothing.” Or maybe it would be better to say “they all emerge from the sound of Nothing.”)

The hushed vocals, thick power chords, persistent focus on one long drawn out harmony like the band is carving a path through a thick, dense fog, all coming out of the shoegaze tradition. But, this isn’t a bad thing. No bands are out there really doing the same thing. I suppose We Were Promised Jetpacks is going for an approximation of the same aesthetic, but really the details are quite different. Nothing re-presents shoegaze in much the same way that Yuck re-presented grunge with their first album.

“Guilty of Everything” is dark in tone, which is unavoidable given the parameters. There is something slightly sinister, or at least ominous about that combination of relaxed, whispered vocals and a barrage of loud guitars. One can’t help but have a visceral reaction. You get pulled into the music listening intently to the vocal, which in turn results in getting lost inside the sound of that barrage of guitars.

And the quieter moments shouldn’t be overlooked. I’m reminded of some of the more introspective moments on “Siamese Dream” like “Mayonnaise”  or the end of “Hummer,” throughout the titular track of this album. Moments that work to just pull the listener in with ringing open strings that cut through the wall of guitars; feedback that squeals uncontrollably for a few seconds in the background–it’s all here. Another distinct connection comes in the form of “You’d Prefer an Astronaut” era Hum that comes out loud and clear on “Dig” (listen to “Little Dipper” below to compare).

“Guilty of Everything” is certainly an entrancing debut that will resonate strongly with listeners who grew up listening The Smashing Pumpkins and My Bloody Valentine, but I’m sure it will also manage to draw a new crowd that may have missed the chance to experience those bands when they were first around (and not a shell of their former selves like they are today). Nothing still has a few shows coming up in March, while their debut album is set for release on March 4th through Relapse Records. Check the links below to pre-order the album and to connect with the band all over the internet.

Bandcamp//Twitter//Facebook//Web//

Upcoming shows:

Mar 12 Austin, TX Relapse SXSW Showcase @ Dirty Dog

Mar 16 Dallas, TX Spillover Music Fest @ Club Dada & Three Links w/ Ty Segal

2014, albums, music, news

Guided By Voices – “Motivational Jumpsuit”

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Well, here it is. This is going to be the most useless post that I have ever written.

Why? Well, because if you are a Guided By Voices fan, then you are a fanatic. I really don’t think that there are any casual GBV fans out there. This is just one of those bands. Shellac is another, and maybe Stereolab is yet another. The point is, they are all bands that inspire completist culture. And, Guided By Voices tends (or at least tended to) take advantage of this by releasing about 50 albums a week. Or maybe it’s more than that. I think at this point basically every sound that Robert Pollard has ever made has been recorded and some fan somewhere is in possession of it, listening to it with their equally fanatical friends, analyzing it, fitting it into the larger picture of Guided By Voices apocrypha, and then insisting that everyone around them listen to it. The point being: the internet doesn’t need a review of a Guided By Voices album. The only the internet needs to do is to let people know that there is a new Guided By Voices album coming out. That’s it. And it only needs to be said once.

Guided By Voices doesn’t need album reviews anymore at all actually, their fans are going to buy it. I would be willing to bet that the band has sold the exact same number of albums for the past 10 releases. And if Robert Pollard and co. released a cassette tape recording of the band discussing the weather, it would sell just as well.

Of course these are my own very biased opinions. In reality I do know that there are some really amazing GBV albums and songs. The first album of theirs that I ever had (bet you didn’t see that coming. That I was going to reveal myself as a GBV fan) was “Universal Truths and Cycles.” Not too long afterward the band released their “final” album “Half Smiles of the Decomposed.” It looked like they were going to go away forever, but we know now that that is very not true.

Well, now they have re-formed. There has been drama, excitement, thrills and chills, and I’m sure that this album is going to carry on the trajectory.  Hit. Miss. Too much. Whatever. Rob Pollard can certainly be prolific that much is true. But say what you will, the guy can sure write a tune. Often times those tunes are tightly packed into 2-minutes or less. Get in, say what you gotta say, and get out. Don’t overstay your welcome. What other band can fit a catchy, exciting verse-chorus-verse-outro into a 35 second long song? And on top of that who would dare to make that the first track on the album? Answer: none. (see: “Wire Greyhounds”). That right there sums them up. That is the thesis behind Guided By Voices. But they aren’t just cranking out songs in less than a minute. When they do stretch out with a song that is over 2 minutes, or sometimes even pushing closer to 4 (“Christian Animation Torch Carriers,” for example) they can really floor you.

Anyway, they have a new album coming out. Here’s a link. February 18.  CD/LP/MP3/FLAC.

 

Better than Pitchfork.