Guided by Voices
Isolation Drills
[TVT]
Rating: 7.3
Tonight, the people of Dayton, Ohio will sleep a sound sleep. Children, tucked
tight in their beds, will dream dreams of twirling microphones, of feet flying
far above gray-haired heads, of striped white pants and barely coherent Who
covers. For the day has come that many feared they would never see: their
dubious hero, Robert Pollard, the Silver Captain, has released a decent
post-Mag Earwhig Guided by Voices record.
Perhaps that isn't entirely accurate. Robert Pollard has always pointed out
that, for the most part, people in Dayton couldn't give two shits about him or
his band. Furthermore, it doesn't seem all that likely that the children of
Dayton will be comforted in sleep by visions of indie rock rather than Celebi,
the mystery Pokémon. I can, however, think of one demographic that will
undoubtedly be affected by the release of Isolation Drills.
Tonight, formerly disillusioned Guided by Voices fans will sleep a sound sleep.
Indie kids, shuffling into record stores, will dream dreams of catchy melodies,
of tasteful production, of quirky song structures and sloppy, beer-soaked rawk.
For the day has come that many feared they would never see: their dubious
hero, Robert Pollard, the Silver Captain, has released a decent post-Mag
Earwhig Guided by Voices record.
Which is not to say that the archetypal Guided by Voices fan is getting
what he or she wanted. Isolation Drills is not a return to the crusty
four-tracks of days of yore. It is not a Beatlesque pop album bursting at the
seams with indelible hooks. It does not feature hastily-fingered, partially
tonal, and obviously inebriated guitar solos. It is, however, a solid,
riff-driven rock record that may disappoint those still awaiting Bee
Thousand II, though it offers plenty of treats to those who are willing
to approach it with open ears.
Like its predecessor, the vastly disappointing Do the Collapse,
Isolation Drills is a fully produced record, with Beck, Foo Fighters
and Elliott Smith producer (and Reverbaholics Anonymous member) Rob Schnapf
twiddling the knobs. But whereas Ocasek's production covered up inherently
weak songs with layer after layer of extraneous studio garbage, Schnapf's
production never interferes. Guitars crunch, drums crash, bass rumbles, and
Robert Pollard's vocals resonate with that oh-so-adorable faux-British accent.
There are occasional touches of backwards guitar, strings, and a few seconds
of Elliott Smith tapping away on his organ, but these additional flourishes
always remain sonically distinct, preventing Isolation Drills from
succumbing to the kind of sloppy sonic stew that marred Do the Collapse.
While the production has certainly changed since past efforts, it's the
character of the songs themselves that mark the biggest difference between
this album and the band's back catalog. Pollard flirted with arena rock
swagger on Mag Earwhig's "Bulldog Skin," and here, Pollard takes
the big rock aesthetic to its logical next step, constructing tracks centered
around big riffs rather than poppy vocal hooks. Which is not to say that
Isolation Drills is bereft of compelling vocal melodies. Whereas many
of the tracks on Do the Collapse ("Zoo Pie," "In Stitches") had
practically no vocal melody to speak of, this album couples its increased
instrumental presence with some of the better melodies Pollard has penned in
recent years-- most notably the poppy sing-alongs of "Glad Girls," and the
album's first single, "Chasing Heather Crazy."
If Pollard's vocals are much improved on Isolation Drills, the tight
instrumental interplay amongst Pollard's backing band really makes the album
shine. Ex-Breeders drummer Jim MacPherson, whose playing seemed utterly lost
in Ocasek's mix, comes through on the new record as a truly frenetic skin
beater. And guitarist Doug Gillard, whose technical prowess transformed the
very essence of Guided by Voices circa Mag Earwhig, is joined by his
Gem bandmate Tim Tobias on bass, resulting in some excellent guitar and bass
interplay.
Although Isolation Drills does attain a degree of big rock attitude
that its predecessors never quite approached, it's far from a perfect album.
The record is perhaps the most homogenous Guided by Voices release to date.
Sure, there are subtle differences between the sneering, pouting rock of
"Want One?" and the subtle balladry of "Fine to See You," but gone are the
days when a single Guided by Voices record covered everything from sparse
bubblegum pop to fuzzed-out rock to wacky four-track experiments. And while
Isolation Drills is, without doubt, a much, much more consistent
offering than Do the Collapse, none of its 16 tracks are effortlessly
catchy enough to lay claim to "GBV Classic" status.
Isolation Drills is easily the most mature, darkly sophisticated record
Guided by Voices have laid to tape (or, in this case, DAT), and Pollard's
untainted love for rock and roll makes it a fully serviceable record. And if
nothing else, Robert Pollard has finally answered the question of what he'll
do when he runs out of pop songs: he'll write rock songs instead.
-Matt LeMay