Creative Loafing
Steve McGowan

KING OF ROCK, BEFORE YOU'RE DEAD

Guided by Voices has always been a band for the trendier-than-thou set
and rock critics. This Dayton, Ohio combo is masterminded by one Mr.
Robert Pollard, (former) grade school teacher by day and 4-track pop
scientist/magician by night. They were pioneers of the so-called
"lo-fi" movement, recording all their earlier releases on cassette
four-track machines or worse.

GBV's music has always been an exciting stew of Beatlesy pop, Stones
swagger, and Who muscle, with a touch of early British prog rock for
good measure. As shown in their excellent Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes
albums, GBV can concoct a heady potion of alluring English old-school
rock, but it's always lurking under the crud and murk of the poor
(lo-fi) production. Listening to these records, and even to the
somewhat more decent sounding Mag Earwhig! can be a bit of a chore.
Cast among the pretty pop pearls are plenty of ugly dead ends,
unfinished songs and bad ideas.

This brings us to Do The Collapse, where Pollard and his boys step up to
the plate to give us a real honest to God, properly recorded and thought
out record. A new, so-big-as-to-be-barely-indie label TVT, a real
recording studio, Electric Lady, and a real producer in Mr. Paulina
Porizkova, makes us picture GBV big time. And big time is what Do The
Collapse is all about.

From the opener, "Teenage FBI" filled with the same 80's sounding synth
and licks used on the Cars' "Just What I Needed", this record is a
revelation. For old GBV fans, the pristine sound could be very
unnerving. Where's all the mystery? It's been blown away by a band
determined to deliver the goods.

The "Hey Bulldog" as played by the Who "Zoo Pie" uses a distorted vocal
to good effect, but that's as lo-fi as Do The Collapse gets. By the
time you've careened into the super pop of "Things I Will Keep",
Pollard's hooks are in you to stay. "Hold On Hope" with its piano
intro, is a modernized "Long and Winding Road". "In Stitches" indulges
in some almost metal crunch, while the acoustic "Dragons Awake!"
cleverly refers to Pollard's fascination with early Genesis.

"Surgical Focus" is the best song Bob Pollard has ever written, and it
is recorded and presented in such a wonderful fashion it can give you
chills. Clean and powerful guitars combine with his almost-McCartney
voices and a sly "She Said, She Said" lyrical theme for a mind-bendingly
good tune.

"Optical Hopscotch" opens with a scratchy vocal, recalling a
Budweiser-soaked Peter Gabriel, then continues with a cool backwards
bridge. "Mushroom Art" also is a fine digging the Revolver-era psychedelic
sandbox, while "Much Better Mr. Buckles" is a driving, Cheap Trick-style
rocker. "Wormhole," another prog-rock flavored number, contains a
beautiful melody and a real English-countryside feel.

"Strumpet Eye" is a great stomper, filled with Pete Townsend-style power
cords. "Liquid Indian" has a multi-tracked vocal chorus that almost
recalls 10cc at their best. "Wrecking Now" lifts the opening riff from
"Don't Fear The Reaper", but turns into a fine pop pastiche, complete
with real strings(!) and crazy, backwards noise straight from Yellow
Submarine's "It's Only A Northern Song". "Picture Me Big Time" is an
ominous, Badfinger-styled tribute with less-than-sly references about
GBV moving up to the majors.

The closer "An Unmarketed Product" is an old school GBV rave-up, one
minute of pure rocking, ending up with Pollard declaring, "And if you
have any luck, you'll get ahead before you're dead."

Pollard's words are always a source of wonder. Lines like "A new gift
for crying out loud/A small token of our appreciation/Human amusement at
hourly rates" are commonplace. He can be as obscure as a visit to the
Vietnamese grocery, but he's always got something to say, and he almost
never goes for the easy rhyme. Luckily for us there is a detailed lyric
sheet.

Do The Collapse is the best record I've heard this year, and the best
new release since Radiohead's OK Computer. I almost didn't think it was
possible that a record this good could still be made. This is a record
for those of you who've ever been intoxicated by the Beatles, seduced by
the Stones, or knocked out by the Who. There's no rapping, no
tuned-down guitars, no turntables, no costumes. And yet, although it's
filled with touchstones from the past, Do The Collapse is not a
nostalgia trip. It's a thoroughly modern rock record. In this
post-nothing 90's rock era, there's been few bands to look to carry the
crown. Do The Collapse marks the coronation of King Bob Pollard. Long
live rock!