Guided By Voices
Under The Bushes, Under The Stars
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NATN Recommended
Guided By Voices
Under The Bushes, Under The Stars
Matador, 1996
RiYL: Camper Van Beethoven, Bob Mould, Screaming Trees |
The album was recorded in "real" 24-track studios, with "real" "producers" Steve Albini and Kim Deal, and the playing on the record is certainly more focused -- if not always as incendiary -- as that on its predecessors. The group plays like it knows there's a larger audience out there listening, and thus songs like "Official Ironmen Rally Song" and "To Remake The Young Flyer" show their true emotion on their sleeves (even though the former decries that very concept in the first verse -- "don't take this too seriously!"). Even "Burning Flag Birthday Suit," which in another era might have been left to one verse and a bridge, takes its time to evolve and beautifully fades into an acoustic coda, becoming much more memorable.
Of course, like any great GBV album, it has to have its idiosycrasies, and Under The Bushes has its share, not least that only 18 songs are listed on the album sleeve, while six more reveal themselves on the disc. The album came at a time when Bob Pollard was on the verge of splintering his long-term group in favor of re-establishing his position as Guided By Voices, recruiting a whole set of new members. And accordingly, Under The Bushes has a number of Pollard-centric movements, such as "Bright Paper Werewolves," in which a mournful whisper-groove gives way to the shouted hook, "They want to get out of here, but they can't find the exits..." -- as good a showcase as any for Pollard's vocal virtuosity. Similarly, one of the finest accomplishments on the disc is "Acorns And Orioles," an echoey acoustic Pollard solo number that features (gasp!) crisply recorded, clean-sounding guitar. The man's gift for affecting minor-key melodies is on unique display here, as he sings out "I can't tell you anything / you don't already know" to rapturous effect.
Then there's the arena-rock stuff. Songs like "Underwater Explosions," "Rhine Jive Click," "Don't Stop Now," "Cut-Out Witch" and much more exhibit a wide-screen awareness of a band striving to reach a large crowd. At least, that's what we might have assumed at the time, in retrospect maybe the album's melancholy is the sound of a prodigious musical talent striving to reach his potential while his friends futiley try to ground him in the reality of his roots. But to be fair, Tobin Sprout shines on this album too. He turns in one of his best up-tempo songs with "Atom Eyes" and one of his (and the band's, for that matter!) best meditative numbers in "To Remake The Young Flyer," not to mention the excellent "It's Like Soul Man."
Whatever way the album came together, the results are as satisfying as any of GBV's work. Tension has always been good for bands at creative peaks, and the Dayton boys clearly made the most of it here. Under The Bushes is maybe not the best introduction to GBV, but if you do get sucked in, at some point this should be your temple.
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.