With yet another album from Robert Pollard and chums, it is getting increasingly difficult to keep up with all the new music that Guided By Voices have thrown at us over the last few years. Since their reformation we are now up to three albums, plus a Pollard solo album, all of which have at least twenty songs on them. As such, reviewing yet another becomes an exercise in trying to compare with past works and finding something relevant to say.
The problem (and it's a good problem) with GBV is that they are so damn good at what they do. Pollard must have some sort of machine which just throws out 2 minute vignettes for breakfast and then some. It must be a nightmare when trying to select a setlist for a live show, or indeed for the fan who has to remember all these song titles. So, do we really need another GBV album? Well, in a word yes. When music is this much fun, why let it stop?
So once again we have the requisite bubblegum college rock of 'Littlest League Possible', 'Child Activist' and 'I Am Columbus' among many others making a claim for a place in GBV history. There seems to be a darker sound surrounding these songs than previous releases maybe indicating some of the inner band turmoil that has been attacking them recently. Could this be a final lurch to the finishing line from Pollard and co...never doubt it, they'll probably release a few more albums before that.
If you like GBV you will like this album. It's not one of their best and some of it is a tad boring (not something ever thrown at a GBV album before). There seems to be a feeling of just throwing these songs out for the sake of it now and maybe the adage of less is more might be something to look at for future releases. Maybe Pollard is keeping the best stuff for himself as his solo album as been the best of the recent output anyway.
