Bernell DorroughGuided by voices
Earthquake Glue
Matador Records
For fans of: Pavement, Cheap Trick, Who’s Next-era Who
For those who were weaned on the sloppier side of Guided by Voices, the sort of “cheap beer + cheap equipment + Cheap Trick” side that directed efforts like “Bee Thousand” and “Under the Bushes, Under the Stars,” the band’s newest release, “Earthquake Glue,” will initially be a disappointment. Although lead singer Robert Pollard is still brimming with catchy hooks and bizarre lyrics, he continues
to employ the refined production that characterized the group’s more recent albums. If fans can view Guided by Voices as an evolving unit, however, and not just a static idea, “Earthquake Glue” will, after repeated listens, reveal itself to be a worthy addition to the band’s catalogue. Even the uninitiated can enjoy this excellent indie rock album.
The most immediately noticeable thing about the record is its short (for Guided by Voices) track list. Like 2001’s “Isolation Drills,” “Earthquake Glue” sees GBV shaving the song cycle down to a “mere” fifteen tunes. The ninety-second snippets that populated earlier albums have been done away with in favor of developed, verse-chorus-verse style-songs. And, surprisingly, Pollard and the boys are able to keep things interesting for more than two minutes. “Beat Your Wings” is an instantly memorable, anthemic rocker with rollicking dual guitar solos. The high-speed, punkish rant “Useless Inventions” sees Pollard attacking technology and consumerism. “Mix Up The Satellite” is the kind of multi-part, shimmery guitar pop one would expect to find on a Built to Spill record.
Pollard’s lyrics and British-sounding voice also remain strong throughout the album. His words are resoundingly positive and self-confident, with numerous references to soldiers that seem self-reflective rather than political. The album begins with the exultant “My Kind of Soldier,” who is invited to “ride on my shoulders when you’ve won.” “We all will be warriors … Rah!” Pollard belts out on “My Son, My Secretary, And My Country,” as if a greater destiny lies in store for all of us. Of course, he still has his lyrical pen dipped rather deeply into the weirdo ink, singing “With your mission wilting and your kids sulking / Happy birthday, Mr. Sink” on the same track.
Despite the band’s enthusiastic playing and Pollard’s inspired vocals, “Earthquake Glue” falters in a few places. The main problem is repetition. Tracks one and three sound extremely similar, as do “She Goes Out At Night” and “Apology In Advance.” It’s also inevitable that when you’ve written roughly 500 songs, some are going to sound the same. Perhaps Pollard didn’t realize that “The Main Street Wizards” sounds almost exactly like “Tractor Rape Chain” from “Bee Thousand,” or perhaps he’s running out of ideas. Other songs simply do not deserve time on an otherwise strong album: “Dirty Water,” a boring blues number, and the jittery “Dead Cloud” could have been left on the cutting room floor.
“Earthquake Glue” slowly grows on you, revealing pleasing nuances to the listener after repeated spins in the stereo. Guided by Voices is no longer for the impatient, ADD-addled listener who doesn’t mind jumping from melody to melody with no transition. Their new material is expertly planned and fully realized. It is the sound of Pollard finally maturing as he approaches 50, and having the time and money to accomplish the goal he has strived for all along: to be a legitimate rock star. “Earthquake Glue” isn’t made for a basement full of drinking buddies; it’s designed for Budokan. Let’s hope the voices continue to guide him in that direction. Grade: A- Bottom line: (Really) old indie rockers take the time to develop songs, with great results.
Rancid
Indestructible
Hellcat/Warner Brothers Records
For fans of: The Clash, Operation Ivy, The Specials
Rancid’s first album in three years is also its first on a major label. After 2000’s self-titled album, a blitzkrieg assault filled with one-minute blasts of distilled hardcore fury, their latest, “Indestructible,” is a return to the melody and experimentation that put the band one step above the average punk rock fold with their most revered album, “. . . And Out Come the Wolves.”
The album begins with the title track, a quick burst of energy in which hardcore guitars are mixed with the wistful vocals of guitarist/bandleader Tim Armstrong. It does not take long for the man to name check his hero, the recently deceased leader of The Clash: “I’ll keep listening to the great Joe Strummer/’Cause through music we can live forever.”
After the fury of the first song, “Fall Back Down” adds keyboards and softer verses
to counteract the punk rock fury of its anthemic choruses. “Red Hot Moon” begins with a surf-rock guitar line before fluidly transforming into a reggae bluebeat. Rob Astin of Tim Armstrong’s side project, the Transplants, raps over the bridge of the song, adding yet another element to the musical stew.
Unfailingly dedicated to keeping the memory of The Clash alive, the rest of the album is filled with the musical genre jumping that that classic band made famous on their “London Calling” and “Sandinista” albums. “Django,” with lyrics based on a violent ’60s movie, is filled with Ennio Morricone-influenced spaghetti western guitars. “Travis Bickle” and “Stand Your Ground” build on the experimental percussion and programming Armstrong most recently explored with the Transplants.
What separates Rancid from the rest of the contemporary punk rock pack are Tim Armstrong’s emotionally stirring vocals and lyrics. On the organ-driven “Arrested in Shanghai,” he details the time he spent imprisoned in China for protesting human rights violations. The naked honesty of his off-key, slurred croon over the melancholy organ and electric piano of guest musician Vic Ruggiero, resembles nothing less than Bob Dylan on “Like a Rolling Stone.” At least two songs directly address the breakup with his wife, Brody Armstrong of fellow punk rockers the Distillers, who left him for Josh Homme of the Queens of the Stone Age. On those tracks, “Ghost Band” and “Tropical London,” the anger and hurt in his voice carries the songs across the line from good to great.
The album’s one weakness comes from its sheer length. It would have been better five songs and twenty minutes shorter. The songs sung by Armstrong’s counterpart, Lars Fredriksen, are generally weaker, and his voice is far less distinctive in sound. Despite these complaints, this is still an excellent major label debut and fits alongside the rest of Rancid’s consistently satisfying canon. Grade: B+ Final Word: A cut above the punk rock fold.