GUIDED BY VOICES Do The Collapse (TVT) lp 15.98
Robert Pollard's quest for rock stardom takes another great stride forward by joining the ranks of Ric Ocasek produced groups; Bad Brains, Suicide, Weezer. Beside the extra notches in Ric and Robert's belts, this is a great sounding GBV record. Gone are the 30 song albums, gone are the 15-second pop gems and the unfinished fragments, and in their place are 16 pretty polished (for GBV) and pretty excellent pop songs.

GUIDED BY VOICES Earthquake Glue (Matador) cd 14.98
Sure Robert Pollard is prolific, but somehow he wears it well. So much better than some of the other record-a-month bands, who shall remain nameless (ahem...acidmotherstemple..ahem). This is Guided By Voices' 15th or so full length record, and that's not including all of the various EP's, live records, side projects and related one-offs. And still, even after all of those releases, the ramshackle pop that Pollard and company seem to be able to pull from their sleeves like a magician's endless scarf, remains fresh and fun, catchy and so fun to listen to. Sure they've mellowed a bit, but c'mon, it's been almost 20 years or something. And while mellower they may be, there's still plenty of rollicking, drunken, off-kilter pop to go around. It's just tempered a bit more this time around by some moody and introspective slow burners. That said, there are no new surprises here, just another batch of great songs from Pollard and company. So folks who dug the last few GBV full lengths, Universal Truths and Cycles, Isolation Drills, Do The Collapse and the rest will just find they have even more GBV to love!
And let's not forget to mention Pollard's recent transformation into the indie rock Willy Wonka! Five copies of this first limited digipak CD (not LP) version of Earthquake Glue will contain a golden ticket, which will entitle the bearer to become the new singer of Guided By Voices! Haha. Just kidding. Not really. That would be amazing though. No, the owners of the golden tickets will receive a free copy of the forthcoming 5 CD / DVD box set Hardcore UFO's, which will contain their never before available on cd debut, the Watch Me Jumpstart documentary and tons more! So, good luck! ...maybe you should buy two of these to improve your chances of winning...
MPEG Stream: "My Kind Of Soldier"
MPEG Stream: "My Son, My Secretary, And My Country"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Replace You With Machines"

GUIDED BY VOICES Earthquake Glue (Matador) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sure Robert Pollard is prolific, but somehow he wears it well. So much better than some of the other record-a-month bands, who shall remain nameless (ahem...acidmotherstemple..ahem). This is Guided By Voices' 15th or so full length record, and that's not including all of the various EP's, live records, side projects and related one-offs. And still, even after all of those releases, the ramshackle pop that Pollard and company seem to be able to pull from their sleeves like a magician's endless scarf, remains fresh and fun, catchy and so fun to listen to. Sure they've mellowed a bit, but c'mon, it's been almost 20 years or something. And while mellower they may be, there's still plenty of rollicking, drunken, off-kilter pop to go around. It's just tempered a bit more this time around by some moody and introspective slow burners. That said, there are no new surprises here, just another batch of great songs from Pollard and company. So folks who dug the last few GBV full lengths, Universal Truths and Cycles, Isolation Drills, Do The Collapse and the rest will just find they have even more GBV to love!
And let's not forget to mention Pollard's recent transformation into the indie rock Willy Wonka! Five copies of this first limited digipak CD (not LP) version of Earthquake Glue will contain a golden ticket, which will entitle the bearer to become the new singer of Guided By Voices! Haha. Just kidding. Not really. That would be amazing though. No, the owners of the golden tickets will receive a free copy of the forthcoming 5 CD / DVD box set Hardcore UFO's, which will contain their never before available on cd debut, the Watch Me Jumpstart documentary and tons more! So, good luck! ...maybe you should buy two of these to improve your chances of winning...

GUIDED BY VOICES Everywhere With Helicopter / Action Speaks Volumes (Fading Captain Series (#22)) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We're not gonna bother trying to convince you one way or the other about a new Guided By Voices release. Let alone 4 releases. By this time, after 10+ albums and 50 side projects and thousands of songs, you probably know whether Pollard and Co.'s lo-fi Beatles / Kinks / classic Brit-pop filtered through American indie rock schtick is your cup of tea or not. If you're anything like me (Andee), you find yourself ready to dismiss every new GBV project with cries of 'Quality Control!' but ultimately find yourself digging almost everything Pollard comes up with. These four 7"s are no different. Each single's A side is a track from their forth coming full length, while the B sides are all exclusive to these here 7"s. And they're all pretty darn good, with a couple gems even ranking up with some of the best GBV songs ever. Vinyl only. And limited of course.

GUIDED BY VOICES Get Out of My Stations (Siltbreeze) cd 10.98
This classic GBV rarity finally makes it onto cd. And it's about time. You can ask any Guided By Voices obsessive what his or her favorite release is, and I bet at least half of the time the answer would be Get Out Of My Stations. From the keening vocal-and-guitar melancholia of Scalding Creek to the twangy garage throb of Mobile to the bouncy perfect pop of Melted Pat to the swaying sweetness of Dusty Bushworms, this ep demonstrates everything about Guided By Voices that made us all fall in love with them. Somehow simultaneously REALLY lo-fi and perfectly lush and rich sounding. Lots of fucked up 4-track detritus only adds to the charm, which faded as their finesse in the studio grew. But back then, Pollard and company could weave perfect pop out of a sweaty basement, a busted 4-track, and a case of shitty beer. Relive the magic! Features four live bonus tracks not on the original ep.
MPEG Stream: "Scalding Creek"
MPEG Stream: "Melted Pat"

GUIDED BY VOICES Half Smiles Of The Decomposed (Matador) cd 14.98
Can it really be? Is it really true? The LAST Guided By Voices Record? Hard to believe but this is, at least according to GBV head honcho Robert Pollard, going to be the very last GBV record ever. Now before you freak out, know that Pollard will continue to record by himself, he just feels like he's too old to front a rock band, and he always promised himself that when he made a record good enough to be a final album, well then he'd pack it in. And apparently he thinks Half Smiles is that good. So is it? Well, it pretty much is. Especially if you've dug the last 3 or 4 or 5 albums, ever since GBV made the switch to recording in a real studio and aspiring toward some sort of sonic high fidelity. This is nowhere near the inspired short attention span indie rock brilliance of Bee Thousand (which is soon to get the deluxe-extra-track-vinyl reissue treatment) or Vampire On Titus. But why should it be? Or rather how could it be? That was years and years and about a million songs ago. No, Guided By Voices Mach 2 are just an amazing pop band, that write and play super catchy songs. Period. And that's most definitely enough. Fuzzy Beatles-esque melodies, rocking indie rock jangle, and Pollard's brilliantly obtuse and surreal lyrics. GBV are definitely slower and a lot more introspective, but they had been heading in that direction for a while now, and it's a sound that suits them well. I bought this immediately knowing I would love it, and I of course did. Completely! GBV are that sort of band, once you're hooked, you're hooked, and always will be. So it's truly sad to see them go. And while everybody may have joked about how many songs (too many?) Pollard had written, now aren't we all glad that he wrote as many as he did, since those songs are gonna have to last us forever!
MPEG Stream: "Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep Over Jack"
MPEG Stream: "Girls Of Wild Strawberries"

GUIDED BY VOICES Half Smiles Of The Decomposed (Matador) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can it really be? Is it really true? The LAST Guided By Voices Record? Hard to believe but this is, at least according to GBV head honcho Robert Pollard, going to be the very last GBV record ever. Now before you freak out, know that Pollard will continue to record by himself, he just feels like he's too old to front a rock band, and he always promised himself that when he made a record good enough to be a final album, well then he'd pack it in. And apparently he thinks Half Smiles is that good. So is it? Well, it pretty much is. Especially if you've dug the last 3 or 4 or 5 albums, ever since GBV made the switch to recording in a real studio and aspiring toward some sort of sonic high fidelity. This is nowhere near the inspired short attention span indie rock brilliance of Bee Thousand (which is soon to get the deluxe-extra-track-vinyl reissue treatment) or Vampire On Titus. But why should it be? Or rather how could it be? That was years and years and about a million songs ago. No, Guided By Voices Mach 2 are just an amazing pop band, that write and play super catchy songs. Period. And that's most definitely enough. Fuzzy Beatles-esque melodies, rocking indie rock jangle, and Pollard's brilliantly obtuse and surreal lyrics. GBV are definitely slower and a lot more introspective, but they had been heading in that direction for a while now, and it's a sound that suits them well. I bought this immediately knowing I would love it, and I of course did. Completely! GBV are that sort of band, once you're hooked, you're hooked, and always will be. So it's truly sad to see them go. And while everybody may have joked about how many songs (too many?) Pollard had written, now aren't we all glad that he wrote as many as he did, since those songs are gonna have to last us forever!
MPEG Stream: "Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep Over Jack"
MPEG Stream: "Girls Of Wild Strawberries"

GUIDED BY VOICES Hardcore UFOs (Matador) 5cd + dvd 49.00
Figured that since we were listing the FINAL Guided By Voices album we'd relist the amazing Hardcore UFO's box that is at once a greatest hits, a rarities collection, a super introduction to the band and so much more. Check it out:
Not sure how much needs to be said about this monstrosity, Guided By Voices' THIRD BOXSET! That's if we're counting correctly. And even if we're not, HOLY CRAP! And that's on top of 40 albums and 800 singles and 3000 side projects. How do they do it? But the thing is, they do it. And do it well. Even after all that, they're still writing great songs! For some reason we never get tired of it. Fans will obviously need this. If you're new to Guided By Voices though, odds are you're not going to want to spend $50 to get acquainted, although it would be the perfect introduction, greatest hits, rarities and b-sides, live performances, a documentary. But then again that might be a bit overwhelming. As if a band with thousands of songs, many less than a minute long, wasn't overwhelming enough. Anyway, if you're curious, but feeling thrifty, you can pick up the greatest hits disc by itself elsewhere on this list. But for the more brave among you, let's dig a little deeper. Five cds, a DVD and an 80 page book with photos and liner notes and all sorts of extra stuff! Disc one is 32 of Guided By Voices greatest hits, for a more complete rundown on this see the review elsewhere on this list. Needless to say, it's chock full of that stumbling, rocking, jangly, lo-fi inhumanly catchy indie rock that GBV do so well. The second disc is a collection of out of print singles and B-sides and is quite a testament to GBV's pop acumen as it plays like an alternate greatest hits. A lot of the glaring omissions from the actual Greatest Hits show up here. Disc three is all unreleased recordings, including a handful of unfinished tracks, some so good you wonder why they never saw the light of day until now. Some not. The fourth disc is a collection of live recordings spanning the band's whole career, and demonstrating the band's knack for rocking out, and getting unbelievably drunk. Disc five is the first appearance on cd of GBV's 1986 debut Forever Since Breakfast. And finally, the DVD is the Watch Me Jumpstart documentary (that yours truly, Andee, has a line of dialogue in! Three words, see if you can find em!) which is really entertaining and funny. For the DVD reissue, they tacked on ALL of the bands music videos, some extra short films, and a bunch of live footage. Wow. It may seem overwhelming, but once you get your feet wet, you'll be up to your neck before you know it. And loving it.
MPEG Stream: "14 Cheerleader Coldfront"
MPEG Stream: "Bulldog Skin"
MPEG Stream: "Shocker In Gloomtown"

GUIDED BY VOICES Hold On Hope EP (TVT) cdep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited edition 9-track cd single with one song from their recent "Do The Collapse" album and 8 others not found there!

GUIDED BY VOICES Human Amusement at Hourly Rates: The Best Of... (Matador) cd 10.98
Seems like it would be tough to pick 20 or so songs for a greatest hits album when the band in question has several thousand to choose from. But Pollard and company have done just that. So here we have an introduction to perhaps the world's most prolific pop band. And as with all greatest hits records, some of the song choices are questionable, and there are some definite glaring omissions, but for the most part, someone new to Guided By Voices would be hard pressed to not fall in love. Jangly and ramshackle, perfectly skewed lo-fi indie pop: like the British Invasion filtered through early eighties college rock, or the Beatles if they recorded for Homestead, or the Kinks if they had grown up in the midwest. A bit heavy on the newer stuff for my liking, which is not because those songs are necessarily bad because they're not. Let's face it, for having written thousands of songs GBV hits the mark more than most bands with a fraction of their recorded output. It's mostly disappointing because there's SO MUCH great older stuff that obviously got bumped for songs probably still fresh/relevant to the band. That said, this is a pretty perfect collection. But if you're already a fan, you might as well buy the Hardcore UFO's boxset since this disc is included and you most likely have all these songs anyway.
MPEG Stream: "A Salty Salute"
MPEG Stream: "Echos Myron"
MPEG Stream: "Surgical Focus"

GUIDED BY VOICES I Am a Tree (Matador) cd 7.98
Available only at stores who buy direct from Matador. The cd has 4 songs, the 7" has 3.

GUIDED BY VOICES I Am a Tree (Matador) 7" 2.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Available only at stores who buy direct from Matador. The cd has 4 songs, the 7" has 3.

GUIDED BY VOICES Isolation Drills (TVT) cd 16.98
Guided By Voices continue on their lugubrious trek towards stadium rock. Where are we now? Album number 10? 15? Who can keep track? But this is definitely about as close as they've gotten to standing alongside their Madison Square Garden brethren: Rolling Stones / U2 / Aerosmith. Huge, crystal clear production (with an occasional lapse into broken four track territory, just so you know they haven't forgotten their roots), simpler, less quirky songs (less immediately cacthy too it seems, although we just got it today) and guest appearances by Elliott Smith and the Soldier String Quartet. The first track, 'Fair Touching' is the best track R.E.M. never wrote. And track 10, 'Glad Girls' is all FM radio Cheap Trick / Grand Funk hit! This is definitely a pretty great pop record, just maybe not nearly as weird as we've come to expect.
RealAudio clip: "Fair Touching"
RealAudio clip: "Glad Girls"

GUIDED BY VOICES Jellyfish Reflector 2lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GUIDED BY VOICES Live (???) 2lp + 7" 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This live double lp, in a plain black and white sleeve, and lacking any sort of liner notes, is credited to some band called King's Ransom, but we have it on good authority that this is actually a live recording of Guided By Voices from their 2000 spring tour. And it comes with a bonus 7", which seems, on good authority, to also be Guided By Voices, but from 1998. Limited to 500.

GUIDED BY VOICES Live From Austin TX (New West) 2cd 15.98
The cd releasing wing of Austin City Limits (aka New West Records) sure is on a roll! Hot on the heels of their Johnny Cash and Neko Case Live From Austin TX cds comes this bountiful double cd of Guided By Voices in concert. The sticker affixed to the shrinkwrap exclaims "full concert with 30 performances from their FAREWELL TOUR! 2 CDs!" That pretty much sums it up! Having been their final shows understandably emotions and energies were high, especially in the case of frontman Robert Pollard who spits out his between song banter like an incomprehensible madman (almost reaching the infamous fevered pitch of Venom's Cronos). The band was in fine form that evening, a little loose, very very drunk (as always), and rockin' out with an urgency befitting the finality of the event. It's a super duper GBV fan pleaser deserving of more exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Girls Of Wild Strawberries"
MPEG Stream: "I Am A Scientist"

GUIDED BY VOICES Mag Earwhig (Matador) cd 12.98

GUIDED BY VOICES Mag Earwhig (Matador) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GUIDED BY VOICES Pipe Dreams Of Instant Prince Whippet (Recordhead) cd 12.98
Another Guided By Voices record. It's true. It almost seems like a joke now. Like I see a GBV record and I honestly think "you have to be kidding". Remember when a band released a record a year for 10 years tops. As far as I can tell (and as far as I was willing to count) according to the official GBV discography, this is Guided By Voices' 75th release since 1986 (including eps and 7"s). That's NOT counting 3 videos, 1 DVD, 1 MP3 cd, and TWO BOX SETS!!! That's also not counting the hundred or so side project releases!! But, as I mentioned in my review of the last Guided By Voices record (from maybe 2 months ago....hahahaaa) this shit is still GREAT. If anything, it's getting better, less pop and more weird and progressive. Which has turned off a lot of folks, but I think it's the one thing that can keep this band interesting after so much output. The pop's still there and when it surfaces it's quite sublime, but the songs are slower, and stranger, and less obvious, and harder to get your head around. Which is a good thing. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Visit This Place"
RealAudio clip: "Swooping Energies"

GUIDED BY VOICES Propeller (Scat) cd 12.98

GUIDED BY VOICES Suitcase 2 (Fading Captain Series) 4cd boxset 45.00
How many indie rock bands can you think of that have released THREE multiple disc box sets? We can only think of one. And that would be Guided By Voices. Doesn't seem so weird when you think about the total amount of material the band released before their break up a couple years back, the albums, the eps, the 7"s, just the sheer number of songs. So the mind boggles at how much unreleased stuff there must be sitting around on beat up old cassettes hidden beneath piles of beer cans and empty cigarette cartons and Chinese food takeout containers. Thus we have Suitcase 2, a continuation of the appropriately titled Suitcase 1, four discs jam packed with songs, and song sketches, and song fragments, some melodic, some harsh, some jangly, some ambient, all weird and wonderful. Much like the first suitcase collection, every track here is credited to a different artist, Billy Ray Human, Bleep Bleep Fuck, Yummy Ropes, Seraphim Barf, Devron Zones, Wig Stomper, Wim Dials, Milko Waif, The Bug-Eyed Mums, Ragged Enzymes, Terror Of Living and more. While lots of the songs are barely-there-pop-song-could-have-beens clocking in at less than a minute, there are also plenty of GBV should-have-been-classics that never were. Hooks everywhere, only the staunchest anti-popster could leave this collection without humming a little ditty that got itself firmly lodged in their head, but sometimes you have to work a bit, trying to navigate a crazy jumbled sonic world of deconstructed not-songs, blasts of what-the-fuck lo-fi weirdness and definite BAD ideas to get to the gems hidden within. Definitely for fans only, cuz only a true blue GBV fanatic could handle -another- four plus hours of dizzyingly fragmented pop jangle overload. So if you've yet to discover the joys of GBV, pick up Bee Thousand or Vampire On Titus and prepare to have your mind blown and your ass kicked, but if you're already a disciple of Bob and his 'Voices and need more more more and even still way more, well, then this is most definitely for you.
Includes a big booklet of photos, reviews, credits and record covers.
MPEG Stream: THE PLAGUE "This Ream"
MPEG Stream: TERROR OF LIVING "Rocket Head"
MPEG Stream: BILLY RAY HUMAN "Somewhere Sometime"
MPEG Stream: CHILD OF JOE "Tin Can Laughter"

GUIDED BY VOICES Suitcase: Failed Experiments And Trashed Aircraft (Recordhead) 4cd box 63.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, it's not a real suitcase, but it's a hefty four-cd box of Guided By Voices / Robert Pollard lo-fi pop odds and ends recorded over the last 20 years! Yep, number six in the "Fading Captain" series is a doozy. 4 hours of music, 100 songs!! Almost each and every one is credited to a different band name, each more ridiculous than the last (Groovy Lucifer, Ceramic Cock Einstein, Ricked Wicky, Fake Organisms, Urinary Track Stars, Antler, Ben Zing, Elvis Caligula). There's nearly as many of these "bands" as there are songs. Anyway, this should keep GBV fans busy for some time to come (and there's a big booklet with lyrics, set lists, photos, etc. and artwork on each of the four cds to feast your eyes on as well, while your ears deal with the Pollard-overload-smorgasbord). We're still trying to get through the whole Merzbox, so we haven't been able to take a break and really delve into this, but it certainly seems pretty cool.

GUIDED BY VOICES Sunfish Holy Breakfast (Matador) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
10 songs priced as an EP.

GUIDED BY VOICES Sunfish Holy Breakfast (Matador) cdep 7.98
10 songs priced as an EP.

GUIDED BY VOICES The Best of Jill Hives (Matador) cd single 9.98
You can never have too many Guided By Voices songs. So in that spirit, here's three more. The title track from the most recent album, which just happens to be one of Pollard's best, one unreleased original, all dreamy and strummy and sleepy, and a Cheap Trick cover! Good stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Free Of This World"

GUIDED BY VOICES The Electrifying Conclusion (Plexifilm) dvd 24.00

GUIDED BY VOICES The Official Ironman Rally Song (Matador) cdep 7.98
4 songs.

GUIDED BY VOICES The Who Went Home And Cried (Rockathon) dvd 18.98
A pretty dire film, unfortunately, with footage of the band both live and on someone's front porch. The sound quality is terrible and there's just no insight into the group. Save your money and instead rent our copy of Banks Tarver's *wonderful* GBV documentary Watch Me Jumpstart!

GUIDED BY VOICES Tigerbomb (Matador) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
6 songs.

GUIDED BY VOICES Under the Bushes, Under the Stars (Matador) cd 14.98

GUIDED BY VOICES Under the Bushes, Under the Stars (Matador) 2lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GUIDED BY VOICES Universal Truths and Cycles (Matador) cd 15.98
Allan just pointed out that the second song, "Skin Parade", on GBV's new album sounds just like "Cat Scratch Fever". That's a good thing! And you know, this is a good album. I keep waiting for Robert Pollard to start sucking, but he doesn't suck yet. He's writing songs by himself, he surrounds himself with powerful, bright musicians who animate his songs with punch and vitality. And his songs are strong and lovely -- each one tweaks the GBV shambolic power pop formula enough to not get boring; some piano here, some strings there, tenderness and crashing noise butted up against one another. A fine album. Buy without fear.
RealAudio clip: "Zap"
RealAudio clip: "Skin Parade"
RealAudio clip: "Christian"

GUIDED BY VOICES Universal Truths And Cycles / Beg For A Wheelbarrow (Fading Captain Series (#23)) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We're not gonna bother trying to convince you one way or the other about a new Guided By Voices release. Let alone 4 releases. By this time, after 10+ albums and 50 side projects and thousands of songs, you probably know whether Pollard and Co.'s lo-fi Beatles / Kinks / classic Brit-pop filtered through American indie rock schtick is your cup of tea or not. If you're anything like me (Andee), you find yourself ready to dismiss every new GBV project with cries of 'Quality Control!' but ultimately find yourself digging almost everything Pollard comes up with. These four 7"s are no different. Each single's A side is a track from their forth coming full length, while the B sides are all exclusive to these here 7"s. And they're all pretty darn good, with a couple gems even ranking up with some of the best GBV songs ever. Vinyl only. And limited of course.

GUIDED BY VOICES Vampire On Titus (Scat) cd 12.98

GUIDED BY VOICES Watch Me Jumpstart (Matador) video 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Surprisingly excellent, heartwarming and not-at-all-smarmy documentary about Guided By Voices, made by local filmmaker Banks Tarver, who has directed most of their video clips (also included here). Most hilarious are interviews with Pete, GBV's Manager For Life, and the episode where GBV disses the supremely dis-able Picasso Trigger.

GUILLOTINE KYODAI`ACDFW1`AQ Viva Guitar (Creativeman Disc) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japanese avant-rock duo Guillotine Kyodai enlist a who's who of underground Japanese experimental guitarists to play a kind of "pass it along" game: each track features two guitarists dueting on an initial theme, which mutates as it is passed from guitarist to guitarist. Axemen include members of Ground Zero, Boredoms, Melt Banana, Solmania, Optical*8, Altered States, Bondage Fruit, and Kirihito. Not only conceptually interesting, this is good listening and probably essential to anyone who owns more than two records by the bands listed above.

GUILTY PARTY It Doesn't Hurt (Evil Eye) cd 13.98
The Guilty Party keep their music in the shadows of night, lacing it with a slight goth and cabaret edge. On this full length follow-up to their 2004 Five Songs debut ep, the Bay Area foursome's brooding drama is more defined and recalls that of early '90s Northeastern U.S. rock bands such as Come or Versus, or more recent likeminded Westcoasters such as Duchess or Whysall Lane. Woozy and intoxicated / intoxicating, their troubled torment ramps up sharply as the album progresses, not unlike a rapid unravelling of emotions and nerves. The spotlight is wisely centered on the powerful throaty vocals of Angelica Maze. The potency of her pipes totally hold its own next to the imposing swagger of the guitars and driving rhythm section. Together they pack quite a wallop. Check out the eighth track "Switch Away" in which the band injects a little Sonic Youth-y art/noise rock dissonance at the end. Very cool. Recorded and produced by SF rock maestro Doug Hilsinger (of the very like-minded but more rural Waycross and Enochestra, they of the 'Taking Tiger Mountain revisited' project) who's also been known to play a little drums and guitar with the band too.
MPEG Stream: "Switch Away"
MPEG Stream: "The Prom Song"

GUILTY PARTY, THE Five Songs (self-released) cd-r 6.98
Five Songs is the debut release of this Bay Area moody rock band. What you first notice when you put this EP on for a spin is the contrast between the low, druggy female voice and the high pitched slinking guitar. The vocals and guitars sit prominently atop a bed of slow-boil bass guitar and drums. Shadowy, smoldering and more than a little bit gothy. Mixed by Doug Hilsinger (Waycross, Enorchestra).
MPEG Stream: "View From A Closet"
MPEG Stream: "Hit You"

GUITAR Tokyo (Onitor) cd 15.98
We'd venture a guess that Guitar aka Michael Luckner is not a man of many words. He chose the name of the common musical instrument as his moniker, and makes uncommonly dreamy instrumental music from a broad palette of processed guitar sounds that offer a healthy nod to My Bloody Valentine. On his latest album which he's titled simply with the name of a major Japanese city, he's got Japanese vocalist Ayako Akashiba adding some honey-sweet murmurred vocals to three of the tracks. The music has a hazy translucence as if each track (vocals included) were painted in watercolor with a smattering of heavier brushstrokes applied with koto and programmed beats. Lovely!
MPEG Stream: "Red & White"
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Memory"

GUITAR WOLF Jet Generation (Matador) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Billed as "the loudest cd ever recorded"! Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf and Drums Wolf don their leather and shades and kick out the jams for yet another blast of the distorted-all-to-hell garageabilly that this Japanese trio is known for. Only Guitar Wolf could get away with doing yet another version of "Summertime Blues"...

GUITAR WOLF Jet Generation (Matador) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Billed as "the loudest cd ever recorded"! Guitar Wolf, Bass Wolf and Drums Wolf don their leather and shades and kick out the jams for yet another blast of the distorted-all-to-hell garageabilly that this Japanese trio is known for. Only Guitar Wolf could get away with doing yet another version of "Summertime Blues"...

GUITAR WOLF Rock'N'Roll Etiquette (Narnack) cd 12.98
Ohmigod. This sounds like it was dubbed off a cassette tape a million times. And then mastered at, like, 11, man. Guitar Wolf's Rock'N'Roll Etiquette features a cover of "The Way I Walk" originally made famous by Robert Gordon and then covered again by The Cramps as an extra track not found on the Japanese version. Another machine-gun blast of Japanese garage-rock glory. Start your day off right! Listen to RRE with (or in place of) your first cup of coffee. Yeaoww!!!
MPEG Stream: "God-Speed-You"
MPEG Stream: "Toiletface"

GUITAR WOLF UFO Romantics (Narnack) cd 16.98
The first domestic release from garage greats Guitar Wolf since 1999. These sexy men from Japan can be commended for their stick-to-it-ive-ness, and consistency of style. Raw old school garage taken to an almost avant-garde level of noise and ridiculousness. This record is more of the same, really fast and punk. Released on Narnack, that same label that put out the Coachwhips album, this is their eighth full length record!! Bands so often go through different phases and genres, changing with the times, and that's fine and all but I'm happy to see Guitar Wolf hasn't changed. Playing their fucked up, feedback-filled, punked-out, hair-slicked-back garage rock n' roll.
RealAudio clip: "Fire Ball Red"
RealAudio clip: "After School Thunder"

GULTSKRA ARTIKLER Kasha Iz Topora (Miasmah Recordings) cd 15.98
A Russian fairytale about a man with an axe who makes "flying porridge"?? Huh? Supposedly that's what this gorgeous album is "about" though since it's mostly instrumental and/or in Russian it's hard to say for sure, in any case it's certainly creepy and bizarre enough to be the soundtrack to such a story, and makes for a fine follow-up to Gultskra Artikler's record for Lampse last year, Pofigistka. That one was one of the strangest and most "actively" melodic or songlike of that label's ambient treasures but went quite well with Jasper TX and Machinefabriek, just as this fits in with Gultskra's new Miasmah labelmates Elegi for instance.
Kasha Iz Topara iz over an hour long, one track flowing into the next, the whole thing a continuous crackling soundscape of darkly dreamy textures, creaking sound FX, ominous chords, fractured and folky guitar, glitchy electronics, and sinister strings... among other things... a mix of haunting cinematic instrumentation, old time Eastern European tradition, and mysterious field recordings. What's not to like?? Axeman, bring more flying porridge please. Definitely for fans of Finnish forest freaks Kemialliset Ystavat, the aforementioned Elegi, and Miasmah label head Svarte Greiner, amongst others.
MPEG Stream: "Po Derevne"
MPEG Stream: "Medicinski Rabonik"

GUNSLINGERS No More Invention (World In Sound) cd 23.00
Woah. What a surprise! See, the German psych/prog/kraut specialists at World In Sound have been responsible for a lot of cool '60s/'70s reissues and comps (Cold Sun, Modulo 1000, Psychedelic Minds Vol.1...) but they also have released some unfortunately not-so-hot cds by a bunch of modern prog and stoner rock bands doing the retro thing, and well, we haven't reviewed any of those based on the old "if you don't have anything nice to say..." principle. Just not worth bothering. BUT, that was until this disc came along. Like we said, a surprise. This Julian Cope approved (Record Of The Month for August '08 on his Head Heritage website) band has come up with a doozy of debut (?) here, a real humdinger from these Gallic guitarslingers. Featuring Matthieu Canaguier on "thunderbass", Antoine Hadhoannou on "prophetic drums", and most importantly, badass-in-chief Gregory Raimo on "guitar & guitar lighter, yaya preach, feedback", this trio's No More Invention sounds something like the French answer to The Heads, or White Hills, or even Mainliner. Utter aggro over the top distortodelic geetar excess. Frickin' savage. SAVAGE.
Nope, not at all what we'd have expected from World In Sound. Not only have they found a current signing that's good, in fact great, said signing are also a lot more punk than we'd have thought. Heck we bet these guys grew up on Metal Urbain, maybe even Soggy! The rabid vocals are somewhere betwixt Johnny Rotten and Mark E. Smith, babbling indecipherably. They also remind us a bit of the guy from The Trashmen (if "Surfin' Bird" was a raving, epick 12:50 long biker/garage meltdown blowout kraut jam called "Lighter Slinger Festival", ferinstance). Some other song titles, just to whet yer sick appetites: "Into The Garage", "The Beheaded Motorbiker's Head", "Black Dwarf Man", "Gigolo Albinos", and (uh-oh) "Auschwitz Boogie". Nothing holy here. Simply full tilt, fucked up, freaking out-out-out. Don't come looking to Gunslingers for songs and melodies and suchlike. Come looking for the blinding white lighting of FX overloaded, speed freak amp-sploitation, and the rhythm section rough-and-tumble of mainlined rock action energy, and you'll find it. Timeless stuff, heck if this WAS a '70s acid-punk reissue we would be less surprised. Gunslingers could do battle with the likes of Gaseneta, based on what we're hearing here. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Lighter Slinger Festival"
MPEG Stream: "Black Dwarf Man"

GUNSLINGERS No More Invention (World In Sound) lp 28.00
NOW ON VINYL!! Woah. What a surprise! See, the German psych/prog/kraut specialists at World In Sound have been responsible for a lot of cool '60s/'70s reissues and comps (Cold Sun, Modulo 1000, Psychedelic Minds Vol.1...) but they also have released some unfortunately not-so-hot cds by a bunch of modern prog and stoner rock bands doing the retro thing, and well, we haven't reviewed any of those based on the old "if you don't have anything nice to say..." principle. Just not worth bothering. BUT, that was until this disc came along. Like we said, a surprise. This Julian Cope approved (Record Of The Month for August '08 on his Head Heritage website) band has come up with a doozy of debut (?) here, a real humdinger from these Gallic guitarslingers. Featuring Matthieu Canaguier on "thunderbass", Antoine Hadhoannou on "prophetic drums", and most importantly, badass-in-chief Gregory Raimo on "guitar & guitar lighter, yaya preach, feedback", this trio's No More Invention sounds something like the French answer to The Heads, or White Hills, or even Mainliner. Utter aggro over the top distortodelic geetar excess. Frickin' savage. SAVAGE.
Nope, not at all what we'd have expected from World In Sound. Not only have they found a current signing that's good, in fact great, said signing are also a lot more punk than we'd have thought. Heck we bet these guys grew up on Metal Urbain, maybe even Soggy! The rabid vocals are somewhere betwixt Johnny Rotten and Mark E. Smith, babbling indecipherably. They also remind us a bit of the guy from The Trashmen (if "Surfin' Bird" was a raving, epick 12:50 long biker/garage meltdown blowout kraut jam called "Lighter Slinger Festival", ferinstance). Some other song titles, just to whet yer sick appetites: "Into The Garage", "The Beheaded Motorbiker's Head", "Black Dwarf Man", "Gigolo Albinos", and (uh-oh) "Auschwitz Boogie". Nothing holy here. Simply full tilt, fucked up, freaking out-out-out. Don't come looking to Gunslingers for songs and melodies and suchlike. Come looking for the blinding white lighting of FX overloaded, speed freak amp-sploitation, and the rhythm section rough-and-tumble of mainlined rock action energy, and you'll find it. Timeless stuff, heck if this WAS a '70s acid-punk reissue we would be less surprised. Gunslingers could do battle with the likes of Gaseneta, based on what we're hearing here. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Lighter Slinger Festival"
MPEG Stream: "Black Dwarf Man"

GURU GURU Essen 1970 (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00
Here's an excellent live soundboard recording from this classic Krautrock power trio, performing at their early, uber-heavy peak. It's all drugged-out, mostly-instrumental cosmic stoner guitar jams, of course. You get versions of "Stone In" and "Der LSD-Marsch" from their spacey first album UFO, and "Bo Diddley" from their anarchic second album Hinten (which hadn't yet been released with this concert took place). Fans won't be disappointed -- it all sounds pretty great considering that these tapes were never originally meant for release, and the Garden Of Delights packaging job is superior as always, with a thick booklet of notes and photos.
Guru Guru have always been one of our favorite '70s German groups, definitely among the heaviest and freakiest in their early days, as documented here. Former free jazzers Mani Neumeier (drums, lots of drums) and Uli Trepte (bass), together with ex-Agitation Free axeman Ax Genrich, went on some heavy psychedelic improv trips yet to be exceeded. Perhaps Caspar Brotzmann heard these guys whilst but a toddler, years before he began his Massaker trio?
RealAudio clip: "Stone In"

GURU GURU Hinten (ZYX) cd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2nd album from these heavy krautrock freaks.

GURU GURU Hinten (Captain Trip) cd 27.00
What it is exactly that constitutes "Krautrock" is definitely up for debate. It seems often largely construed to be the insistent, motorik pulses of Neu! and Can. But to limit the genre to just that would be a mistake. Bands like Guru Guru and Ash Ra Tempel were also present, bringing some of the heaviest psychedlia ever recorded. Hinten is the former band's second album, and a classic. Free range guitars grazing on open, organic jams. It is more evidently structured than their debut, UFO, while still retaining an improvisational feel that is as playful as it is crushingly acidic. This is one of both Allan and Cameron's favorites within the genre. Halfway between killer rock riffs and complete psychedelic blow-out. Essential, though an expensive Japanese import in its current incarnation.
MPEG Stream: "Electric Junk"
MPEG Stream: "The Meaning of Meaning"

GURU GURU Hinten (Wah Wah) lp 29.00
This Krautock essential, available on vinyl again for a limited time...
What it is exactly that constitutes "Krautrock" is definitely up for debate. It seems often largely construed to be the insistent, motorik pulses of Neu! and Can. But to limit the genre to just that would be a mistake. Bands like Guru Guru and Ash Ra Tempel were also present, bringing some of the heaviest psychedlia ever recorded. Hinten is the former band's second album, and a classic. Free range guitars grazing on open, organic jams. It is more evidently structured than their debut, UFO, while still retaining an improvisational feel that is as playful as it is crushingly acidic. This is one of both Allan and Cameron's favorites within the genre. Halfway between killer rock riffs and complete psychedelic blow-out. Essential, though an expensive Japanese import in its current incarnation.
MPEG Stream: "Electric Junk"
MPEG Stream: "The Meaning of Meaning"