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HALF SMILES OF THE DECOMPOSED
Guided By Voices
(Matador/Beggars Group)
Alas, poor GBV. We hardly knew ye ... aah, who are we kidding? If anything, sometimes it seems like we know Guided by Voices a little too well for our own good. And for our wallet.
Over the past 17 years, the unstoppably creative Robert Pollard and his ever-changing crew of homeboys and drinking buddies have almost put out enough product to stock their own store: 15 studio albums, dozens of singles and EPs and a trio of box sets. And let's not forget the hundreds of live bootlegs and monthly solo albums that keep the faithful ponying up.
Well, the GBV bucks stop here -- Pollard claims Half Smiles of the Decomposed is the band's swan song. But if you're expecting some giant blowout of a farewell party, forget it. On this fat-free 42-minute set, Bob stays on message and sticks pretty close to the middle of the road, matter-of-factly delivering another 14 strongly melodic tunes that spryly toe the line between British Invasion pop, indie-rock and '60s prog -- and feature plenty of his typically enigmatic lyrics, natch.
The production follows suit, falling at the exact midpoint between the warm 'n' fuzzy lo-fi immediacy of the band's early work and the polished professionalism of their major-label discs.
The naysayers may accuse Pollard of playing it safe, but the faithful will likely think he played it just right. And while Half Smiles of the Decomposed might not be the place to start with GBV, it's as good a place as any to call it quits.
Well done, Bob. We'll miss you -- until next month's solo album, anyway.
Track Listing
1. Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)
2. Sleep Over Jack
3. Girls of Wild Strawberries
4. Gonna Never Have to Die
5. Window of My World
6. Closets of Henry
7. Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial
8. Asia Minor
9. Sons of Apollo
10. Sing for Your Meat
11. Asphyxiated Circle
12. Second Spurt of Growth
13. (S)mothering and Coaching
14. Huffman Prairie Flying Field