Guided by Voices - Tremblers And Goggles By Rank - VINYL LP

Even back in 1987, Guided by Voices was not content to just one album in a year-Sandbox was released in the summer of that year following Devil Between My Toes' appearance that February. Likewise, in similar GBV style, the sound and approach of the two albums could not be more different. Where Devil mostly mines a darker, lo-fi psychedia, along with several instrumental explorations, Sandbox is sunny, direct, has a bigger, crunchier sound, and zero instrumentals. Where Devil has a murky and impressionistic black and white photo of a rooster for a cover, Sandbox sports a full color photo of the band relaxing on a lawn on a sunny day. Let's also recall that unlike today, in 1987 a full-color album jacket wasn't just a little more expensive than a black and white one, it was way more expensive. Right up front, the band was communicating that this was a more commercially ambitious endeavor, while behind the scenes they rented better gear for a bigger sound, and tackled more sophisticated arrangements and honed in on the hooks and harmonies of the songs.Of all the band's early self-released albums, Sandbox differs the most from the sound fans would later associate with the group, which is in itself a recommendation. Nowhere else will you hear the perfectly rendered three-part harmonies of InchLong Distance Man,Inch direct Beatles quotes, or Robert Pollard reveling in his southern Ohio drawl. It's also true that one of the more enjoyable aspects of the record is finding all the places where the band's future is indeed foreshadowed. Simply put, Guided by Voices just can't help but be a little weird, even when attempting something like a power pop album. At the close of the opening track, Pollard announces, InchLadies and gentlemen! Back by popular demand for your entertainment and spiritual enlightenment... Electric Jam Soul Aquarium!Inch a truly Inchwtf is happening hereI

The mighty Guided By Voices are set to unleash upon the world their 35th and quite possibly... best album, Crystal Nuns Cathedral. How do they do it you might ask? Well we have no idea how they do it, but we certainly do know why they do it. They do it because quite honestly we need them to do it. The world needs The Rock, and we need loud guitars, we need anthemic songs, we need a reason to raise a rock fist in the air and give a InchHell YeahInch! On Crystal Nuns Cathedral, the band delivers all of this and so much more. Just four months since It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them!, comes this latest, twelve songs determined to challenge for the title of greatest Guided by Voices album of all-time. Hyperbole you say? Not this time. The guitars are bigger, the arrangements are more ambitious, the songs are uplifting, epic, and as incredibly hook-laden as always! Pure power pop perfection like lead single InchExcited OnesInch mix perfectly with the slow burning InchClimbing A Ramp,Inch which reaches it's climax on a stunning guitar lead before dissolving into the fist pumping anthem InchNever Mind the List,Inch which serves as the beating heart of the entire album. Do you still need convincing? Listen to the one-two punch of InchForced to SeaInch and InchHuddledInch and marvel at the epic scope and vision of an incredible band on full display. This record is a statement, a challenge, a monument, a call to arms. Top this one if you can, this is the new benchmark. Who will best it? Who will try? Listen to Crystal Nuns Cathedral, and report back to us. We will be eagerly waiting.

Robert Pollard has a very strong work ethic. With most of their touring canceled due to the pandemic and then a fractured kneecap, Guided by Voices ran up an extremely prolific streak in the studio, recording and releasing eight albums in the past three years and garnering piles of rave four star and five star reviews in the process. In case one were snoozing, the last album, La La Land was Uncut magazine's InchBest Of The Month.Inch The pandemic records were particularly notable and unique that the band members recorded most of their instruments individually in separate cities. Welshpool Frillies finds the gang back together, in a Brooklyn basement with producer Travis Harrison. Much of it was recorded live to tape. The catchy ear worms in these new songs are undeniable, as the kinetic energy of the band is captured in it's most raw and pure form. The album is brash, no-frills, and punky, inspired by the wiliness of 90s-era GBV, specifically the Scalping The Guru compilation that Pollard put together in 2022. 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of GBV's start in Dayton, Ohio. Robert Pollard was an elementary school teacher with no formal music training, and his unlikely success has been an odds-defying adventure. It's never too late to discover this vital rock band and join the GBV cult.