Guided By Voices – Styles We Paid For

 

Guided By Voices – Styles We Paid For

By

Jesse E. Mullen

You’ve released over 100 albums. You’ve released six albums over the past two years. You’ve also released two double albums since you reunited with your current lineup in late 2016. But your group is more than just statistics. What happens next?

This was the story of Guided By Voices in December of 2020. The band led by the ultra-prolific Robert Pollard were on a hot streak which dated back to their second reunion in 2016. They had already recorded two albums to be released in 2020 by the start of March. But in a year that was anything but normal, some changes had to be made for their third album of the year.

Originally planning to record an all-analog album titled Before Computers live in the studio, the band would ironically record their most digital album yet. Using Pro Tools, file sharing, and five different studios in five different states, each member recorded his parts separately.

Producer Travis Harrison then assembled the recordings at his Serious Business Studios in Brooklyn, NY. Harrison – who also tours with the band as official soundman – has become a sort of “fifth Beatle” to Guided By Voices, producing every album from 2017’s August By Cake to the present.

All of the experience undoubtedly helped Harrison when assembling and mixing tracks recorded from thousands of miles apart. Harrison used the opportunity to experiment in Pro Tools, adding extra production touches not heard on a Guided By Voices record since the more colorful tracks on the early 2019 double album Zeppelin Over China. (an eternity in GBV time.) But fans still had to wonder – how coherent can an album recorded from such a distance really sound?

The album opens with the slow burning “Megaphone Riley.” A chugging rhythm guitar and Pollard’s vocals introduce the track in modest fashion. Gradually, drums and bass come in anthemically, in a way which resembles “Redmen and Their Wives” from 1996’s Under The Bushes Under The Stars. It also uses part of the melody from 2017’s “Whole Tomatoes.”

Lyrically, it’s a rare political commentary from Pollard. With lines such as “Your facts approved, click on/Check our jumbo virus,” Pollard seems to be alluding to misinformation online regarding COVID-19. And the final verse with lines about “building your walls very proudly” seem to refer to the former president Donald Trump.

Pollard uses the lyrics of “They Don’t Play The Drums Anymore” to lament the lack of live drums on modern pop songs. He uses cryptic language, referring to electronic percussion as “electric lily pads on cool blue amazon” while also namechecking famous drummers and pieces of a drum set.

Musically, it features some of the most diverse percussion on a GBV song to date. The guitars and basses drop out before the first verse, giving way to a variety of shakers, congas, and bongos. It all ends with Pollard complaining that today’s youth “sit beating their puds” instead of beating the drums.

Guided By Voices have been in the unique position of having a laundry list of talented drummers through the years – including The Breeders’ Jim “Jimmy Mac” MacPherson. But if MacPherson is the gold standard, current drummer Kevin March is easily silver medalist. March’s fills aren’t quite as manic as MacPherson, and he lacks MacPherson’s flow, but he has a rock-solid sense of rhythm and tempo.

On “Electronic Windows To Nowhere,” Pollard writes about artificial intelligence, seemingly dismissing it with the titular line. Pollard has always been dismissive of modern technology – see 2003’s “Useless Inventions” – but like on “They Don’t Play The Drums Anymore,” his target is much more specific.

Ironically – as pointed out by GBV podcaster Jeff Gomez – Pollard and the band would not have been able to make the album without modern technology. Without cloud-based storage, Pro Tools, or computers, the album would’ve had to have been shelved until it was safe to record face-to-face. And Pollard is famous for never slowing down.

“Slaughterhouse” resembles the dark dirges of Please Be Honest, but with the better musicianship of the current lineup. Lyrically, the track is Pollard’s “Meat Is Murder,” describing a slaughterhouse in cryptic terms. Lines like “they taught the babies to smoke” could have a double meaning – smoked meat, slaughterhouse, get it?

Industrial noises and clanging sounds recall earlier tracks such as “The Caterpillar Workforce” and “The Grasshopper Eaters.” Gillard’s three note guitar solo recalls the sound of Joy Division. It is an almost dreadfully hopeless tune, one which – while enjoyable in certain moods – will have the listener glad when it’s over.

The next track brings some much-needed optimism. “Endless Seafood” begins with a bouncy, descending chord progression which never quite crosses the line into cheesiness. Pollard uses the concept of “endless seafood” as a metaphor for “plenty of fish in the sea” with regards to love.

It’s the kind of cheerful pessimism that R.E.M. perfected on 1987’s “The One I Love.” Pollard sings that “you can be hungry, but empty inside.” An almost perfect anti-love song, it ends with swooping strings, and a skillful decrease in tempo.

On the other end of the spectrum is “Stops.” A beautiful love song about how feelings evolve as we age, Pollard uses a succession of bus stops as a metaphor. Doug Gillard turns in an absolutely gorgeous guitar part, recalling Neil Young during his On The Beach era.

Speaking of excellent Gillard guitar, “Mr. Child” features one of the albums best riffs. The track opens with a Gillard riff which can only be described as having the gusto and confidence of Keith Richards. Pollard describes a Peter Pan-esque character who attempts to stay young forever. But as we all know, this isn’t possible.

The track ends with a three-part prog suite. It slows to crawl with pounding drums and melodic bass, before building back up into an explosive finale. A thrilling would be single, it is the perfect bridge to the latter half of the album.

As the album gets closer to the end, Pollard becomes more obsessed with the passage of time. “Time Without Looking” is an absolutely gorgeous ballad. Gillard arpeggiates every note on his Les Paul in crystal clarity, before a midtempo acoustic guitar joins in with the rest of the band.

Pollard sings that he knows “the time without looking” before cryptically asking “where do they go? After the goldrush? After the screentest?” An obvious nod to Neil Young and a possible nod to the movies of his youth, Pollard seems to be looking back through the decades of his life.

It’s a haunting commentary on aging, which is put into sharp relief by album closer “When Growing Was Simple.” Bob treats this tune as a memoir of sorts, talking about his school days, his discovery of his athletic abilities, and his maturation as an artist.

A cold, almost industrial tune, it is less accessible than “Time Without Looking.” Still, Bob’s haunting vocal and lyrics when combined with Mark Shue’s Codeine-like bassline send chills down the spine of the listener. After a full album of twists and turns, Pollard gives the listener a chance to meditate on what they’ve heard.

While many bands floundered in 2020 or had to rely on Bandcamp handouts to stay afloat, Guided By Voices proved there was a third option – making three kickass albums and capping the year off with the strongest one. Styles We Paid For may have been recorded under different means than originally intended, but the end result was one of the group’s best outings.

GBV Inc./2020

 

 

 

Circus Devils – When Machines Attack

 

Circus Devils – When Machines Attack

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

Doing soundtrack work for film or television is a difficult enterprise. Oftentimes, a musician will only see a rough cut or workprint of a film while he or she works. It’s not for neophytes. Making soundtracks for fake horror movies is even harder.

When Circus Devils released two albums on the same day in October 2013, fans had to be anxiously waiting for what creepy sounds were to come. The trio were comprised of instrumentalists – and brothers – Todd and Tim Tobias, as well as vocalist Robert Pollard.

Pollard is best known as singer/songwriter for the Dayton, Ohio band Guided By Voices. But his work with Circus Devils allowed him to stretch out into more experimental territory. Their debut 2001’s Ringworm Interiors got positive attention, not only for how well it aped horror movie soundtrack sounds from the 60s and 70s, but how it expanded on them.

With Todd Tobias assuming the role of producer, an endless array of found sounds were at the band’s disposal. Sure, there was a Lynchian and Polanskian feel to the material, but there were also echoes of the noise rock and experimental music put out by Chicago’s Touch and Go records in the 80s and 90s.

Since then, the band had gone onto all kinds of fascinating territory. They made concept albums about fictional characters (2002’s Harold Pig Memorial), double albums (2007’s Sgt. Disco) and even ventured into acoustic territory (2009’s Gringo.) It seemed like the musical possibilities for Circus Devils were endless.

So, on that fateful day in October when two Circus Devils albums were released, anticipation must have been high for whatever concepts would be followed next. One of the two albums was titled When Machines Attack. It was a sort of concept album about a dystopian future where technology rebelled against its creators. But how did it stack up?

Turns out, pretty well! After a so-so opener in “Beyond The Sky,” the listener is treated to the brilliantly unhinged noise rock of “You’re Not A Police Car.” Pollard shouts cryptic lyrics about a car chase as a siren wails. The Tobias brothers cook up another sizzling instrumental with pounding drums and thin trebly guitars.

It sounds both apocalyptic and cathartic, not unlike David Yow’s work with The Jesus Lizard. Speaking of The Jesus Lizard, “Bad Earthman” evokes their early noise rock sound with Pollard’s growling vocals and Todd Tobias producing in the style of Steve Albini.

With stop-start drums and bass, and a mean guitar, Pollard almost croons in a bass range while spooky sound effects pop in during the chorus. Once again, Todd Tobias is in fine form. His drumming is inspired, alternately sounding tight like John Bonham, and freewheeling like Keith Moon.

“Idiot Tree” is something completely different. While the previous two tracks had a sort of “controlled-chaos” approach, “Idiot Tree” is tight post-punk in the spirit of The Fall. The drums, bass and guitars even echo the rhythm and riff of “Totally Wired.”

Pollard is prolific in the same gargantuan proportion that Smith was, so the comparison is not just musical but also philosophical. Writer Jeff Gomez compared Pollard’s approach to that of an athlete, writing that “athletes are great on the aggregate, and so is Pollard.” It’s a fitting comparison, as Pollard once pitched a no-hitter.

Elsewhere, we have the trippy but heavy electronica sounds of “Blood Dummies.” Amazingly the Tobias brothers manage to keep things fresh production wise, sounding a bit like early Gorillaz but wholly their own.

Jungle sounds percolate from both speakers while synths screech. Sequenced electric piano and electronic drums are joined by the psychedelic sounds of marimba. It is both evocative of being lost in a rainforest and chilling in a dark club.

If there is one knock against the song, it’s Pollard’s vocal. It sounds a bit too much like drunken rambling, but thankfully his contributions to the song are minimal. He is in fine voice elsewhere on the album, so one bad vocal can be forgiven.

The title track is goth-y post-punk with tribal drumming resembling “The Hanging Garden” by The Cure. In fact, the apocalyptic vibe of the music and the lyrics evoke the “hell on earth” feeling of the entire Pornography album. However, unlike Robert Smith – who sang about chemical dependence and fractured relationships – Pollard goes for the supernatural.

The song is central to the concept of technology taking over the human race – with machines that literally attack. And the music matches the desperation of the theme. The bassline is interesting in particular locking in with Todd Tobias’ furious pounding. The mix also offers a claustrophobic effect with the left and right stereo channels closing in on the listener.

“Johnny Dart” is a fascinating number. It features a stop start rhythm guitar with compressed, distorted bass. Thundering drums by Todd Tobias crash around the chaos, and Pollard – oddly reserved – speak-sings the title ad nauseum. Although it never overstays its welcome, it’s not worth repeated listens. It is a lot of fun in the context of the album though.

A strange song that works better is “Doberman Wasps.” It features a crunchy guitar riff, flanked by electronic percussion and real drums by Tobias. Pollard’s vocal in the chorus is almost percussive itself. He repeats each word several times (i.e., “me me me me”), and it has the feeling of a man-made echo/delay effect.

Perhaps “Wizard Hat Lost In The Stars” is the most sentimental song on the album. A slow detuned arpeggiated guitar plays a beautiful melody. Pollard sings in his sweetest upper register, and his lyrics are just as moving as his delivery. They are charming in their stark simplicity.

“It’s going nowhere” he repeats in the key of e major. It has the vibe of a mid-70s heavy metal ballad. The kind of song where a loud band shocked its listeners by displaying a talent for playing quietly. Not the highest of highs – as we will see – but definitely a highlight.

The mostly instrumental “The Lamb Gets Even” is another highlight. It’s trippy arpeggiated guitars and spooky Moog synthesizers make it sound like the intro to a Roman Polanski film. The ambient noises Todd Tobias conjures makes it easy to picture an establishing shot of a haunted apartment building or creepy woodlands.

But “Centerverse” is where it all comes together. It is almost a hybrid of the early tracks’ sounds with the sound of “Lamb Gets Even.” (Pounding noise rock meets spooky synths.) The passionate shouted vocal from Pollard towards the end really makes the track. The track proves he could front a heavy metal band if he wanted.

With When Machines Attack, Circus Devils turned in an album equally as fascinating as Ringworm Interiors, Gringo, or Sgt. Disco. It may not have gotten the attention of those records – AllMusic didn’t even have one of its writers review it – but it proved that the Tobias brothers and Pollard could still come up with unique and exciting ideas.

Happy Jack/2013