Guided By Voices - Doughnut For A Snowman

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Customer reviews
Press release

2...according to our Clinton on Fri 25 Nov, 2011.

What????????????? This is the new Guided By Voices single?? I heard it on Pitchfork or somewhere and presumed it was some kind of out-take. Now, I'm as much of a GBV fan as the next flannel shirted middle aged guy who has never really got over Husker Du splitting up but really if you are gonna come back then do it with style and not in the manner of slopping out a song that sounds like it was written by a four year old. With a host of utterly brilliant records under their belt and (especially in the period 85-95), an uncanny grasp of the most peculiar type of melodies where 60's tunefulness met post punk edge and a huge dash of prog power thrown in, there is very little left for them to do. Lead track 'Doughnut For a Snowman' is a horribly twee ditty that seems to end with nothing of any substance actually happening. The B sides are like the kind of endearing throwaways GBV slung out on 7” EP's like 'Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer' and 'Get out of My Stations' , lo-fi in the extreme, a lot edgier and skewed than the stuff that turns up on their albums but nothing you can't live without. There a nice coda in that Tobin Sprout gets a song at the end, a much underrated force in the GBV story, the track pretty much just consists of him counting but he has such a distinctive sound and intuitive ability that its just great to hear his voice again in a GBV context. Let's hope that of the 21 tracks on the new album there are plenty better than this.

7” with 4 exclusive b sides. ‘Doughnut For A Snowman’ is an exclusive single from the brand new Guided By Voices album ‘Let's Go Eat The Factory. The first album of new material in 15 years and featuring the classic Guided By Voices lineup, ‘Doughnut For A Snowman’ is, in Robert Pollard’s own words, ‘the twinkliest song’ he‘s ever written. This 7” single features 4 exclusive B-sides from the ‘classic’ line up of Robert Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos and Jimmy Pollard at their improv best. After a 15 year hiatus, GBV finishes off its year-long reunion tour by releasing an album of 21 new songs, deliberately choosing to return to what bandleader Robert Pollard calls the "semi-collegial" approach of iconic GBV albums like ‘Bee Thousand’ and ‘Alien Lanes’. ‘Let's Go Eat The Factory’ is much more than a mere return, however: sprawling, variegated, heavy, melodic, and yet still recognizably and coherently GBV in both its literal and mythic senses. "At first I said: no reunion, period," explains Pollard about the decision to revive GBV. "And definitely no record or re-formation. But the tour went so well; the response was really unexpected. I thought at some point that a lot of people would like to hear new GBV music. The chemistry was still there." Choosing to eschew the recording studio, LGETF was instead manufactured in the living rooms, basements, and garages of various long-time band members. Some tracks were recorded more-or-less live at Mitch Mitchell's garage, where the band would often practice back in the early- and mid-90s. These sessions comprised Mitch, Bob, and Jimmy Pollard, Bob's brother and long-time collaborator, who, though never a part of the touring ensemble, always played a crucial role on the classic-era releases. Some tracks were improvised over acoustic jam sessions at Greg Demos' house. Many were recorded at Tobin Sprout's place in Wherever, Michigan, and later lovingly fucked with in order to achieve the proper level of weirdness. Band members occasionally switched instruments (Bob plays drums; Mitch plays drums; Kevin plays drums; Jimmy Pollard plays bass; Greg plays lead guitar; Toby plays pretty much everything; etc.), and Bob gladly accepted input from other band members. Tobin Sprout wrote or co-wrote and sings on 6 out of the 21 songs. The aesthetic is very much in keeping with GBV, but in some unexpected ways (more prevalent use of keyboards and samples, for one thing) the 21st century can't help but poke its nose into the resulting music. Devoted fans of Bee Thousand will not be disappointed. ‘Let's Go Eat The Factory’ will be released on 16th Jan on Fire Records.