Artist bio

Guided By Voices is the primary vehicle for Dayton, Ohio-based rocksmith Robert Pollard, and has proved one of the most tireless, exciting rock bands of its time.

Pollard, a former elementary school teacher, formed the group in 1985 around a group of Dayton musicians and friends, including frequent collaborator Tobin Sprout. Their first four albums didn't cross many radar screens, but 1992's excellent Propeller earned the group a modicum of national recognition, with such musical notaries as Kim Deal and Thurston Moore naming themselves fans.

Two years later, the group's second breakthrough came with Bee Thousand, a home-crafted epic, classic rock and roll album that exploded the group's popularity and almost overnight, instituting GBV as "the" quintessential indie rock band. The group signed a big record deal with Matador, and then proceeded to make their next album at home and keep the money. Smart guys, these Ohians.

But rock aspirations got the better of them. The group began experimenting with "real studios" and fleshing out their songs into full-on rockers and such in the late '90s. Pollard solidified his role as the band's driver in 1997, after Sprout left and Pollard kicked out the rest of the members, hiring indie rockers Cobra Verde as their replacements. CV guitarist Doug Gillard stayed on as Pollard's favorite post-Sprout sideman thereafter, while other members came and went and stayed and left, the most volatile seat being on the drum riser.

And last we heard, Pollard and his merry band of mischief-makers were still swilling Bud Light and rocking long into the night at a club near you. Get up slowly, and tear yourself away from your computer. You might be able to get there in time to catch set closer "My Valuable Hunting Knife>Baba O'Riley".

Albums by this artist

Half-Smiles Of The Decomposed (2004)

Human Amusements At Hourly Rates (2003)

Universal Truths And Cycles (2002)

Isolation Drills (2001)

Suitcase (2000)

Do The Collapse (1999)

Mag Earwhig! (1997)

Bulldog Skin 7" (1997)

Tonics and Twisted Chasters (1997)

Sunfish Holy Breakfast (1996)

Under The Bushes, Under The Stars (Recommended) (1996)

Alien Lanes (Recommended) (1996)

Bee Thousand (Recommended) (1994)

Crying Your Knife Away (1994)

The Grand Hour (1993)

Propeller (Recommended) (1992)

Concerts

March 18, 2002
The Dublin Pub, Dayton, Ohio

December 30, 2001
Apollo Theatre, New York

Features

Guided By Voices History: Part II: 1994-1999
Published October 31, 2005

Guided by Voices History: Part III: 1999-2004
Published October 31, 2005

Guided By Voices History: Part I: 1983-1994
Published October 30, 2005

GBV: A Eulogy: Or, Pollards We Have Known
Published December 30, 2004

NATN's Wholly Subjective Top 100 GBV Songs Of All Time:
Published December 30, 2004

The Top 100 Songs Thingy: Um, The Second Half.
Published December 30, 2004

Interviews

Doug Gillard
October 23, 2003

Rock Of Ages
March 27, 2001

Guided By Voices

Alien Lanes

» TROY CARPENTER | CO-DIRECTOR

NATN Recommended

Guided By Voices

Alien Lanes

Matador, 1996

RiYL: Wire, The Amps, Jeff Buckley's Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk

GBV mastermind Bob Pollard uses 1995's Alien Lanes as an example of the beauty of his trade. He once remarked that Matador Records gave him a $100,000 advance to make the album, yet recording it in his basement cost under $1,000 (and even less than that if you exclude the cost of numerous cases of Bud Light).

One could make a case, however, that both parties still came out winners in the deal. While Pollard and his bandmates effectively turned home recording into a prosperous living, Matador paid for rights to one of the '90s' classic pop albums, and couldn't have been disappointed with the result.

The follow-up to 1994's much-lauded Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes is in many ways that album's equal. In others, it's an even greater triumph. Alien Lanes is more chock-full of songs -- 28 in all -- than its predecessor and, amazingly, provides a more varied (albeit more disjointed) listening experience.

The beauty of Alien Lanes is how all 28 tracks come together to present an original vision. The record's songs represent an incredible range, but with repeated listens, the ragged rock anthems ("A Salty Salute," "Motor Away"), absurd experiments ("Pimple Zoo," "Ex-Supermodel"), pop nuggets ("My Valuable Hunting Knife," "Game Of Pricks"), twisted ballads ("As We Go Up We Go Down," "Chicken Blows") and tiny flashes of brilliance ("Gold Kick," "Hit") coalesce into an astoundingly focused whole: a glimpse of rock genius at its most primitive.

The "genius" of Pollard/Tobin Sprout-era GBV is in the method -- writing songs and recording them at the instant of inception, using only the tools at hand. None of the usual obstructions (studios, producers, excessive overdubs, rewriting) stand in the way of the artists' vision being communicated to the audience. The songs on Alien Lanes appear in different stages of evolution, which only serves to highlight the band's creative process. We hear songs borne from simple hooks, songs with more complex structure, and little interludes consisting merely of one progression -- with no semblance of an actual "song" -- that are somehow no less memorable.

The record seems exhausting at first glimpse, but it only clocks in at 40 minutes and is fully coherent as an album despite its tireless variety. Alien Lanes abundant nooks and crevices may take many listens to penetrate and even more to totally comprehend, but that is the mark of a well-crafted record: it provides aural adventure as well as instant satisfaction. Alien Lanes does all these things, and despite its modest budget, the album will likely go down as one of the '90s best rock records.

TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.