Guided by Voices – 鈥楲et’s Go Eat the Factory’
The first new album in eight years by Guided by Voices features more of the classic lo-fi sound that the Ohio indie rock band made their trademark on albums like 1994’s “Bee Thousand” and 1995’s “Alien Lanes,” which started a widespread cult following of the band’s quirky style. Guided by Voices eventually called it quits in 2004, after releasing the surprisingly polished “Half Smiles of the Decomposed.” The band’s original classic lineup (1993 – 1996) reunited in 2010 to perform and work on a new album.
Charismatic frontman Robert Pollard, leads the band composed of Mitch Mitchell on guitar, Tobin Sprout on guitar and keyboards, Greg Demos on bass and Kevin Fennell on drums in a spirited return to the lo-fi sound that acts like Beck, Pavement, Elliott Smith, Folk Implosion, Iron & Wine and Of Montreal have used so adeptly. Recorded at home rather than in a traditional studio, the new material spawns an organically simple sound, void of the glitzy production gluttony that plagues much of today’s music. While “Let’s Go Eat the Factory” sports a weighty 21 songs, there are no long-winded monstrosities as most arrangements clock in at two minutes or less.
The lead single, “The Unsinkable Fats Domino,” is instantly likeable with grinding guitars and Pollard’s uncharacteristically peppy vocals. Other standout songs include the whimsical “Doughnut for a Snowman” and the engaging “God Loves Us.” My favorite track is “Hang Mr. Kite” with Pollard delivering a majestic vocal performance that is reminiscent of early ELP. Not all the arrangements on “Let’s Go Eat the Factory” hit their intended musical mark. “The Big Hat and Toy Show” is basically an annoying, chaotic mess, and “The Things That Never Need” resembles a weird and unexplainable dream you want to quickly forget. Fortunately, the band’s latest album exudes an excess of the uncompromising creative edge that won fans over so many years and albums ago.
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