Somehow the talk always returns to production values with Guided by
Voices. Thankfully, for GBV's 614th album Do The Collapse, the talk
will not be about how good these songs might’ve been if only lead GBVer
Robert Pollard had consented to recording them on something higher
quality than a Dictaphone tape recorder. No, somebody’s slipped a
mickey into Pollard’s drink and managed to convince him to get the whole
band in to a real studio with an actual producer (ex-Cars Ric Ocasek).
Whoever it was deserves a promotion.

Truthfully, the recording quality on GBV albums has gradually improved
since their 1994 lo-fi masterpiece Bee Thousand, but the layered,
polished production on Do The Collapse is nothing short of a
revelation. Pollard’s songs sound full and towering, just like the old
Kinks and Who songs he’s been hearing in his head for years. With
strings, organs and interwoven guitars, “Hold on Hope” is a power ballad
Oasis would love to steal. Echoes of fellow pop purists Weezer (who
were also, not coincidentally, produced by Ocasek) reverberate through
the synth lines of “Teenage FBI,” while “Surgical Focus” and the
Pumpkins’-ish “Wormhole” are catchy enough to deserve a shot at
commercial radio play. (Yes, that was a comparison between Guided by
Voices and Smashing Pumpkins.)

The album’s clarity also brings Pollard’s often overlooked rock pipes
into focus. His voice is an exceptional instrument only made better by
his clever use of it. He can hit every note, but occasionally chooses
not to, letting his voice sink and miss the mark, drawing extra
attention to whatever bizarre lyric about dragons or Quakers he feels is
particularly important. Credit also goes to the rest of the band
(including Doug Gillard, Greg Demos and ex-Breeder Jim MacPherson), who
never feel overwhelmed under the microscope of Ocasek’s slick
production.

Ironically titled given how immaculately put-together it is, Do the
Collapse is the album fans have always claimed GBV was capable of
making. Finally.