After a decade on the margins of rock, one of the few truly great independent bands is making a mainstream play, and doing it without selling out. "Do The Collapse" has all of the characteristic Guided by Voices traits, including impeccable song writing, inscrutable lyrics and near-perfect rock instincts. But singer Robert Pollard and company usually serve up dozens of tracks per CD, rarely sticking with a single melody for more than a minute of two. On "Do the Collapse," produced with a light touch by Ric Ocasek, the band is more focused and themes are more fully developed. GBV has always played with a robustness and vitality sometimes lacking in peers like Sebadoh or the Archers of Loaf. It's that real rock vigor that lets the band transition from 4-track home recording to this studio affair without sounding washed out or washed up. While Pollard—whose Elvis Costello-like writing talent finally comes to the fore on this CD—is the only original member on this recording, the sound is still very much GBV, just bigger, bolder and more fleshed out.

For those just discovering Guided By Voices on this, their eleventh album, don't be disappointed if some of the riffs and flourishes seem familiar; mainstream alternative bands have been ripping these guys off for more than a decade. The lyrics can be vague ("I'm a born-again, boot-stomping witch humper. Are we there yet?"), making it hard to divine exactly what these guiding voices are saying. Perhaps it's nothing more than "Rock is Good," in which case the message has been received loud and clear.