Guided By Voices - Earthquake Glue (Matador)
If you're a die-hard skeptic of Guided By Voices, and wish that they'd make another Bee Thousand and quit riding the 'wish we were popular' horse they've been on for years, quit reading. And skip Earthquake Glue. The old lo-fi, frustrated-math-teacher days of GBV are long behind them and aren't coming back. For their past few albums Bob Pollard and his boys have tried to point themselves in the direction of a hit, and it looks like this time they might have one.
Earthquake Glue is good solid rock, coated with that faux-Dada patina that Pollard has refined over the years. And it features some of Pollard's best songwriting. At times it sounds like GBV is channeling some lost Who rock opera, as written by Marcel DuChamp. And that's good.
And gone is the filler - this one is tight. Standout tracks include "My Kind Of Soldier," a buoyant rocker that sounds amazing live, "Useless Inventions," a brilliant take on the technology of modern life (and a seriously rocking tune), "The Best Of Jill Hives," very close in spirit to "I Am A Scientist," and "I'll Replace You With Machines," a warp-drive anthem with a catchy guitar core. This is great stuff - "Useless Inventions" is one of the best recent GBV songs I've heard, and deserves to be heard by everyone.
The rest of Earthquake Glue is almost as good. That GBV album you've been meaning to pick up for the last few years but never got around to buying? Make it this one.
You can stream the entire album, watch the "My Kind Of Soldier" video, and download the "I'll Replace You With Machines" mp3 and the "My Kind Of Soldier" mp3.
Comments
Glono has got it down! GBV's newest CD is indeed good rockin' stuff. Pollard mixes his pop (Jill Hives) with his artrock (Mix up the Satellites) and his postpunk (Useless Inventions) into a masterful mix of a rock CD in 2003. It's all good!
Well, there is a wee bit of filler on the album, but it is still the best thing they've done in a long time. "Useless Inventions" does indeed rock.
This is gBv's creeper album. It gets better with each spin and "the Best of Jill Hives" would be a smash with some mainstream radio rotation.
I really liked what I heard of this today. It's more cohesive than past stuff.
I gotta tell you, I love GBV, but I think this one sorta just lays there. I mean, all their records take a few listens, but I don't find this one growing on me in an Alien Lanes or even a Universal Truths sort of way. Bob just sounds tired to me.
That being said, I bought it and will see them live anytime I can.... According to their site, they're even playing a couple of shows in Chicago in November with Tobin Sprout opening.