Earth Man Blues

Album review

Prolific output has always been a component of Guided by Voices' charm, but during the phase that began around 2012's Let's Go Eat the Factory, the band kicked into overdrive like never before. Since that point, it wasn't uncommon for a single calendar year to see two or three full-length GbV albums, and 33rd studio album Earth Man Blues comes just months after 2020's Styles We Paid For (already the band's third album of that year). Despite this unending stream of new material, the band shows no signs of diluting creativity, and the 15 songs on Earth Man Blues find songwriter Bob Pollard exploring the weirder corners of his mind in between delivering more straightforward power pop bangers. Album-opener "Made Man" starts out with energetic, crunchy guitars and one of Pollard's signature soaring melodies, but at the 44-second mark, the rock & roll elements disappear completely as the song takes an abrupt turn into full-on orchestral instrumentation. It's a bizarre and twisting way to start the album, and the song is over before 90 seconds pass. From there, Earth Man Blues splits fairly evenly between melodic rock and outlandish experiments. Tunes like "Trust Them Now" and "Margaret Middle School" are driving but catchy, with detailed arrangement touches like harmonizing guitar leads. Jangly midtempo rocker "The Disconnected Citizen" builds on acoustic guitars and Pollard's melancholic vocal melodies before introducing understated strings. It's the type of song that only Guided by Voices could actualize, pairing sentimentality and weathered but surefooted rock energy in perfect balance. The stranger side of the album is far less concerned with balance, with "Sunshine Girl Hello" quickly jumping from shuffling verses to a noisy psychedelic outro, and songs like "Lights Out in Memphis" exploring theatrical prog moments, robotic synth instrumentation, and Pollard's ever-surreal sci-fi lyricism. At times, the diverse shifts of Earth Man Blues feel like a cyborg re-envisionment of The Who Sell Out, with moments like the a cappella intro of "Dirty Kid School" or the song-to-song genre-bending recalling that album's rapid shifting. Earth Man Blues stands out slightly from the several records that came before it, for both its abundance of hooks and its tendency to take the songs even further off the deep end. As with most GbV albums, it's a wonderfully bizarre and occasionally disarming ride through warped thoughts and cracked beauty.

© Fred Thomas /TiVo