Edmonton Sun - 4/7/01
Fish Griwkowsky

Guided By Voices
Isolation Drills
TVT Records

Rating: 4 out of 5

When you're making blueberry waffles, get it right. Are they too frozen?
You could end up with a soggy treat. Is the heat too high? Crunchy and
burned, your waffles suck. Music is the same.

Robert Pollard, the guru of GBV, has a tough task. He's in charge of one of
the best pop bands in the world, straight-out rock and roll, never mind all
this watered-down, U2-style goop definitely left in the toaster too long.
Soggy, burned waffles = bad. Instead, Isolation Drills is a very crunchy,
fuzzy, tasty little circle of music to throw into your CD player's tray. The
sounds make you feel good inside, as on the syrupy Twilight Campfighter or
the deliciously strummy Sister I Need Wine. Then, Want One? is jagged and
cocksure, with whistling! Glad Girls is so good. And so on. Pick any of the
16 tracks on this album and you'll be sated. Guided by Voices transmit from
on high. Don't dare doubt them. We do need, after all, a little bit of
straightforward rock and roll in this, the darkest age of radio since Billy
Joel went disco. Oops -- gotta run, the toaster's popped and I smell blue
smoke!