Guided By VoicesUnder the Bushes Under the Stars (1996)
Matador
Hello friends! My associate/enemy John “Jackie” Lacey has asked me repeatedly to take part in his blog. Finally, I acquiesced. So here is the first entry for my column which will be called “Hidden Classics.”
I’ve had the benefit of growing up with older siblings whom are much cooler than I, and throughout the years they’ve passed down some really great music, saving me from “discovering” bands such as Nickelback. One of the bands that my siblings caused me to become smitten with are the indie stalwarts Guided By Voices, led by former 4th grade teacher Robert Pollard.
GBV is hardly hidden; they’re considered along with Pavement, Sebadoh, and Dinosaur Jr. as one of the key independent bands of the 1990s. Toiling in the obscurity of Dayton, Ohio for the late 80s as well as the early 90s, Guided By Voices finally caught national buzz after the 1994 release of the indie classic Bee Thousand, their 7th full length. I love that album, adore it even, though it can be hard for many to tolerate given its Lo-Fi aesthetic and its somewhat fanciful lyrical content (i.e. “Robot Boys,” “Demons,” “Nondairy creamers explicitly laid out like a fruitcake,” etc).
This brings me to my first Hidden Classic, Under The Bushes Under The Stars. By the time it was released in 1996, GBV their trademark Lo-Fi sound had been anointed indie darlings by everyone from the New York Times to MTV’s Kurt Loder. There were heightened expectations for them to deliver Bee Thousand Part III (part II being their excellent Lo-Fi follow-up Alien Lanes). What they instead delivered was a powerful, clean sounding record, chalk full of infectious hooks and radio friendly singles. There’s hardly anything Lo-Fi about Under The Bushes..., and that apparently turned some people off. Not me, however. Granted I first heard it about 3 years after its release, but I fell in love with the record after the first spin.
With rock powerhouses Kim Deal and Steve Albini producing various tracks, Under The Bushes... is by far the poppiest record in the GBV pantheon. How songs like “The Official Ironmen Rally Song,” “Under Water Explosions,” “Drag Days,” and “It’s Like Soul Man” didn’t get significant radio play is beyond me. Pollard has an incredible pop sensibility; the dude can write a hook, but he can also be very poignant. Take for example the heart wrenching acoustic number, “Bright Paper Werewolves,” a song literally about scratch ticket junkies in Dayton, and from my experience living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a year, I can identify.
They want to get out of here
but they can’t find the exists
They cling to the cinema
and they can’t find security
then they finally got recognized
so they left in obscurity and misery
Pollard’s songwriting partner in crime (at this point) is fellow Daytonian, Tobin Sprout, and he too brings some of his best material to this record. “Atom Eyes” and the Albini produced “It’s Like Soul Man” are pop gems that sound like lost R.E.M. classics. While Pollard’s material dominates most of the record, Toby’s songs offer pleasing jangley excursions that still manage to fit the mood perfectly.
While there are 24 songs on this album, it moves incredibly fast (just over 54 minutes). Each track sustains the forward momentum, and when the album finishes with the gloriously bizarre “Take To The Sky,” you’ll be tempted to start the record over. The album’s first and last songs have similar (if not the same) chord progression and act as perfect bookends to a magnificent album. While Under The Bushes... might not be my personal favorite GBV album, I think it’s an album anyone who loves Who’s Next inspired Pop music should give a listen to. Maybe afterwards you’ll understand why when GBV broke up in 2004, my fellow diehards and I begged, “Don’t Stop Now.”
I’ve had the benefit of growing up with older siblings whom are much cooler than I, and throughout the years they’ve passed down some really great music, saving me from “discovering” bands such as Nickelback. One of the bands that my siblings caused me to become smitten with are the indie stalwarts Guided By Voices, led by former 4th grade teacher Robert Pollard.
GBV is hardly hidden; they’re considered along with Pavement, Sebadoh, and Dinosaur Jr. as one of the key independent bands of the 1990s. Toiling in the obscurity of Dayton, Ohio for the late 80s as well as the early 90s, Guided By Voices finally caught national buzz after the 1994 release of the indie classic Bee Thousand, their 7th full length. I love that album, adore it even, though it can be hard for many to tolerate given its Lo-Fi aesthetic and its somewhat fanciful lyrical content (i.e. “Robot Boys,” “Demons,” “Nondairy creamers explicitly laid out like a fruitcake,” etc).
This brings me to my first Hidden Classic, Under The Bushes Under The Stars. By the time it was released in 1996, GBV their trademark Lo-Fi sound had been anointed indie darlings by everyone from the New York Times to MTV’s Kurt Loder. There were heightened expectations for them to deliver Bee Thousand Part III (part II being their excellent Lo-Fi follow-up Alien Lanes). What they instead delivered was a powerful, clean sounding record, chalk full of infectious hooks and radio friendly singles. There’s hardly anything Lo-Fi about Under The Bushes..., and that apparently turned some people off. Not me, however. Granted I first heard it about 3 years after its release, but I fell in love with the record after the first spin.
With rock powerhouses Kim Deal and Steve Albini producing various tracks, Under The Bushes... is by far the poppiest record in the GBV pantheon. How songs like “The Official Ironmen Rally Song,” “Under Water Explosions,” “Drag Days,” and “It’s Like Soul Man” didn’t get significant radio play is beyond me. Pollard has an incredible pop sensibility; the dude can write a hook, but he can also be very poignant. Take for example the heart wrenching acoustic number, “Bright Paper Werewolves,” a song literally about scratch ticket junkies in Dayton, and from my experience living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island for a year, I can identify.
They want to get out of here
but they can’t find the exists
They cling to the cinema
and they can’t find security
then they finally got recognized
so they left in obscurity and misery
Pollard’s songwriting partner in crime (at this point) is fellow Daytonian, Tobin Sprout, and he too brings some of his best material to this record. “Atom Eyes” and the Albini produced “It’s Like Soul Man” are pop gems that sound like lost R.E.M. classics. While Pollard’s material dominates most of the record, Toby’s songs offer pleasing jangley excursions that still manage to fit the mood perfectly.
While there are 24 songs on this album, it moves incredibly fast (just over 54 minutes). Each track sustains the forward momentum, and when the album finishes with the gloriously bizarre “Take To The Sky,” you’ll be tempted to start the record over. The album’s first and last songs have similar (if not the same) chord progression and act as perfect bookends to a magnificent album. While Under The Bushes... might not be my personal favorite GBV album, I think it’s an album anyone who loves Who’s Next inspired Pop music should give a listen to. Maybe afterwards you’ll understand why when GBV broke up in 2004, my fellow diehards and I begged, “Don’t Stop Now.”
- Brendan Leonard
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