Brown Submarine
(2008, Guided by Voices Inc.)
SIDE
A:
Winston’s
Atomic Bird- 4
Classic late period GBV
shines here. Angular arena rock status, with all the surreal
lyricism, and sly hooks of some classic memories from the period,
something that had been largely absent from much of the side-project output up until this point.
Brown
Submarine- 3
Dark and foreboding.
Also, sneakily catchy with its two time harmony over the 1 minute
plus song.
You
Satisfy Me-
4
Fairly
average verses with great guitar hooks, and ad nauseaum pop ending
following said guitar line. A little reminiscent of Isolation
Drills
material, so again, so refreshing to hear here.
Ate
It Twice- 4
Big acoustic sounds lead
into enjoyably guilty choruses that are pumped full of believable
attitude.
Two
Girl Area- 4
More big acoustics
with electric leads popping in and out. On the whole, a very poppy
song with some awkwardly laid out vocal melodies. On the whole
though, airy and enjoyable.
North
11 AM- 2
Downwardly morose,
plodding song that makes an attempt at the end to pick it up a bit,
but ultimately continues on its depressed trek across the grooves. The Weakest track of the album thus far.
Zero
Fix- 2
Buzzing, down-strokes
over pounding drums. Cool, hard-rock guitar riff but not much else to
hang your hat on.
SIDE
B:
Psych
Threat- 3
Some pretty poor
choruses, but man the verses are great. Choruses sound like a
annoying Buzzcocks b-side chorus, repeated over and over that kind of kills this from being a classic.
Rat
Trap- 2
Getting a bit silly here
with this damn Rat Trap business. High energy rock littered
with big accents, but some damn silly Pollard melodies that he takes
one step too far. I am, however, digging that moody piano that creeps
into the mix toward the end.
Soggy
Beavers-
3 Ok.
Yes, this song is called “Soggy Beavers.” Can a song loose merit
for it’s terrible douche-chilling title? Unfortunately, the song’s
not much to write home about either. Easy listening pop, with
out-of-tune vocals. Gets catchier with repeated listens, sometimes in a grating way.
Ready
to Pop- 4
Bright, and
brittle guitars over bouncy Kinks-like basslines. Great, short lazy
choruses that stick easily. Pollard’s vocals boarder on the
ridiculous in sections, but manages to keep it together.
Still
in Rome- 2
Baritone Uncle Bob
vocals over proggy guitar effects. Some musical explosions, some
string-instruments scrape in at one point. Let down penultimate
track.
Go
for the Exit- 5
The best saved for last.
After an album of the most promising side-project tracks in a while,
this closer is vintage mid-90s GBV pop that fits snugly on any
indie-pop mix-tape, Pollard related or otherwise.
Zero Fix is a 4 - minimum!
ReplyDeleteReally appreciate what you've done here chief.
Thanks for checking out the blog!
ReplyDeleteNorth 11 AM...what the hell is this song about? Kinda like it though. Yeah, I'd give Zero Fix a higher ranking.
ReplyDeleteI like the songs okay so far but the production is too...clean. Would have come across better with some low-fi muddiness, or even hi-end polish. Right now they're stuck in-between and sound like demos.
ReplyDeleteI feel you on the production. I know Chris Slusarenko was doing this but everything Pollard from that era has these weird quality to it. It's not quite overproduced, but it's clean and weak. Whether the Todd Tobias recordings or this, it's definitely missing something with that ugly scrappiness missing (or actual overblown production)
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