GUIDED BY VOICES Vinyl & CDs

Review: Guided By Voices are nothing if not prolific songwriters. This is the band's 41st album and 18th in 10 years. It's refreshing to see this maverick group defy the norms set by the record industry in terms of staggering releases to benefit sales and just go for it. Band leader Robert Pollard is the sole constant member having had many line-up changes over the years, but he has steadied the ship somewhat as the current serving musicians are the longest running in the band's history. They've now made 17 albums since 2017. Where this album differs is it offers more sonic diversity whilst maintaining their unmistakable anthemic character. "I wanted to create, hopefully, an experience, kind of a wild ride, where the listener would want to hear it multiple times in order to grasp all the sections and fields of sound to discover something new with each listen," says Pollard. "I trimmed down the songs so that there wasn't a lot of repetition, so you get a lot of sections that happen only once or twice." A punk sentiment - again disregarding norms - where they're sounding all the more invigorated for it.

Review: This is Guided By Voices' 41st(!) album. And you rightfully may ask how do you go about keeping a band together for that long? GBV thankfully have a solution to that and it involves leader Robert Pollard being the sole constant member. Nevertheless, this album features the longest-lasting lineup of GBV ever (Robert Pollard, Doug Gillard, Kevin March, Mark Shue and Bobby Bare Jr) and they're on invigorating form, guided by some righteous principals. "I wanted to get a little more sonic diversity for this album," says Pollard, "So I asked each member of the band to record all the instruments for one song and I did three songs myself. For the rest of the songs, we used a lot of different approaches to the recording of both the instruments and the vocals." Pollard adds, "I wanted to create, hopefully, an experience, kind of a wild ride, where the listener would want to hear it multiple times in order to grasp all the sections and fields of sound to discover something new with each listen." Anthemic, timeless and completely worthy of repeat listens, this tireless indie rock group have audibly hit their brief.

Review: There's no denying that getting hold of a new Guided By Voices album is a good thing. Hitting play for the first time is as exciting as it is nervy - surely they have to go off the boil at some point? 20 LPs in and it hasn't happened yet, so we'll see. Digressions aside, much as we love the introduction to their fresh ideas and work, few things come close to revisiting their finest hours when you've not heard them in years. Originally arriving in 1996, one of two full length releases that year, the other being Under the Bushes Under the Stairs, Tonics & Chasers is every bit as rousing and life-affirming as these guys get, and from the word go, with the gritty lo-fi sensibilities and distortion of 'Satellite'. Similarly leftfield tones abound on 'My Thoughts Are A Gas', to name just one more, while the likes of 'Wingtip Repair' are equally beguiling but in a different (curious piano) kind of way. In contrast, fare such as 'At The Farms' could almost pass for the work of a mainstream rock band. Then you listen closer.

Review: Tonics & Twisted Chasers emerged in 1996 as a surprise release, marking a distinctive entry in Guided by Voices' prolific catalogue. Initially available as a mail-order only, vinyl-only album, its crude black-and-white sleeve reflected the band's DIY roots. This album, a collaboration between Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout, deviates from the polished approach of Under the Bushes Under the Stars. It embraces lo-fi aesthetics, characterised by ultra-short tracks and raw creativity. Sprout's eclectic backing music, often featuring a drum machine, meshes with Pollard's stream-of-consciousness lyrics, resulting in a collection of nineteen songs, most under two minutes. Tonics & Twisted Chasers stands out for its experimental spirit and brevity, reminiscent of child-like creativity. Tracks like '158 Years of Beautiful Sex' and 'Look, It's Baseball' exude a spontaneous, unfiltered charm. Despite the album's modest presentation, it is filled with unique gems like the melancholic 'Is She Ever?' and the energetic 'Wingtip Repair'. The band's ability to fuse lo-fi production with profound musicality is elite. Tonics & Twisted Chasers is a hidden treasure, embodying the unrestrained and playful essence of Guided by Voices.

Review: Guided By Voices have a forty year history which they have drawn up on here. Strut Of Kings is their 41st album and is another one which confirms they are true indie rock royalty. It was mostly recorded in a studio in Kings County, New York and nods towards some of the more malevolent thorne sitters in history. It makes for a surreal year regal listen that features standout tunes like 'Olympus Cock In Radiana', 'This Will Go On' and 'Show Me The Castle.' A triumphant return indeed.

Review: According to Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard, Same Place the Fly Got Smashed is at the apex of the band's creative output. In the James Greer Biography, Guided By Voices: A Brief History: Twenty One Years of Hunting Accidents In the Forests of Rock and Roll he says this record has some of his all-time favourite songs on it, and 'Pendulum' is home to his finest lyrics. Originally released in 1990, the fourth studio album from Guided By Voices is certainly potent stuff. The opening sample tells us to "get ready for excitement and adventure", then the raw mood of 'Airshow '88''s riff marks the beginning of an epic journey. From the muscular 'Order For The New Slave Trade', to the tender acoustic heartbreak on 'When She Turns 50', the gritty hypnosis invoked by 'Ambergris', and psychedelic folk-pop on 'How Loft I Am?', resistance remains impossible, 34 years on.

Review: While many in the music industry would shout that the album format has long since died death, nobody bothered to tell American indie stalwarts Guided by Voices. Or if they did, the band ignored the cries and carried on as they were. Welshpool Frillies is their frankly hard to believe 38th studio album and another good old indie rock knees up that carries on a fine run of form that dates back to 2017. Frontman Robert Pollard is joined by a fine stable of musicians who help serve up a scuzzy mix of pop and big riffs that will delight fans old and new.

Review: Sandbox is the 1987 sophomore opus by Ohio rock n' rollers Guided By Voices, noted for its contrasting style and appearance to ther debut Devil In My Toes. This new version is a legit repress from the band's original label Scat Records, driving home the band's characteristically rollicking hard rock sound yet also throwing many a curveball, such as quoting the Beatles and some proud, accented singing.