Uncut
Nigel Williamson
Guided By Voices
Universal Truths and Cycles
Matador Records
Dazzling diversity from self-confessed Ohio rock geeks
Back on Matador following the demise of Creation, Universal Truths and Cycles
finds Ohio’s GBV inventively mixing grunge-like rockers (“Skin Parade”),
fragments of lo-fi wistfulness (“Wings of Thorn”), melodic power-pop
(“Cheyenne”), Oasis-style bombast (“Eureka Signs”) and narco
drone-rock (“Car Language”) with such un-self-conscious aplomb that you
don’t ever see the joints. Larger-than-life frontman Robert Pollard won’t
like the suggestion at all, but after headlining an American tour with The
Strokes and getting name-checked as an inspiration by a new generation of
bands such as Jimmy Eat World, GBV are in danger of becoming the elder
statesmen of American alternative rock. And did the Ramones ever manage an
album of 19 tracks that was all done and dusted inside 45 minutes? Really
rather magnificent, in its way.
