Guided by Voices
Universal Truths and Cycles
[Matador; 2002]
Rating: 7.9
There was a time when Robert Pollard was on the verge of becoming an
indie-rock Peter Pan-- with a beer gut. Though he was already well
past the age of 98% of his audience by the time Bee Thousand
was released, his music carried with it a kind of child-like
enthusiasm and appreciation that set it apart from the pack of whiny
'alternative' rockers. It's easy to imagine Pollard, way back in
1993, sitting in front of his four-track, staring with determination
at the cover of Who's Next and thinking to himself, "One day,
I'll be able to use a real recording studio-- then I can be a
real rock star!"
Four brilliant albums and countless excellent EPs later, Bob Pollard
finally got to live out his rock star dream. With TVT (Sevendust,
anyone?) and herr jackass Ric Ocasek in his corner, Pollard finally
had the resources at his disposal to make a shot at the big leagues.
Unfortunately, it seems that Pollard was too busy with his shiny new
toys to actually figure out something to do with them. Thus, Do
the Collapse, the last album by Pollard the man-child, bore all
of the whimsy of his earlier works with none of the substance.
It's hard to imagine an experience more sobering (figuratively, at
least) than your big break doing little more than pissing off the
people who were sticking up for you way back when. And to top it all
off, Pollard went and pulled a Howard Stern, as domestic turmoil cast
a more sinister light on his once-charming hedonism.
Isolation Drills, though a more solid effort than its
predecessor, marked the end of the child-like charm that Pollard
had sprinkled throughout his earlier work. Effortless hooks and
fantastical storytelling gave way to chugging riffs and darker
lyrics. This new direction went over with a mainstream audience
about as well as all of the band's older directions did, and Guided
by Voices quickly found themselves off the label, before being
scooped back up by their former boosters at Matador.
Which brings us to Universal Truths and Cycles. To make a
long story short, it's the best thing Pollard's done since Mag
Earwhig!. And while it doesn't recapture the magic of the
Sprout-era Guided by Voices records, Universal Truths and
Cycles marks the return of some of the most sorely missed
qualities of early Guided by Voices: strong vocal melodies and
refreshingly atypical song structures.
The album's 35-second opener, "Wire Greyhounds," provides a brief
high that's far too quickly brought down by "Skin Parade," a song
that relies on a jarring, barely interesting riff to take up the
space surrounding the memorable chorus. After this brief misstep,
though, the album genuinely takes off, with the brief acoustic number
"Zap" setting the stage for the album's two greatest songs.
"Christian Animation Torch Carriers" begins with a bit of melancholy,
as Pollard harmonizes with himself over a simple yet compelling chord
progression. The band enters, building towards a thrilling climax
that utilizes some of Pollard's most tried and trusted songwriting
techniques. The result is one of those inimitable moments where it
sounds like Pollard, while sliding an open chord up and down the neck
of his guitar, happened to stumble upon a perfect song. While
"Christian Animation Torch Carriers" does sometimes meander as it
builds towards its explosive ending, "Cheyenne" wastes no time making
its brilliance known. Built around a lovely chord progression and
developing towards an endlessly catchy finale, "Cheyenne" could
easily be the most blissful Guided by Voices song since Waved
Out's "Subspace Biographies."
Aside from "Cheyenne," there aren't any other tracks on Universal
Truths and Cycles that unquestionably qualify as classics. "Back
to the Lake" comes close, perfectly contrasting its rhythmically
relentless drive with a simple, laid-back vocal melody. The slightly
overlong "Car Language" marries Joy Division darkness with Sonic Youth
guitar lines, reaching a great instrumental section with rapid-fire drums
and squalling feedback. Yet, other songs, like the minute-long "The Ids
are Alright" and "Factory of Raw Essentials" meander in typical Pollard
fashion without ever really registering.
At this point, it's clear that the days when Bob Pollard could effortlessly
create perfect pop songs are gone. There's blood and sweat all over these
songs-- even "Cheyenne," this album's standout, contains a few moments of
awkwardness, as Pollard chokes the song's melody with too many syllables.
Still, Universal Truths and Cycles has more than its share of
wonderful moments-- moments when the rock crunch of Isolation Drills
blends seamlessly with the steady melodic sensibility of Under the
Bushes, Under the Stars and the charming eccentricity of Bee
Thousand.
So, Robert Pollard has grown up. The question now is whether his
newfound maturity will be able to replace the ambition and vivacity
that came with his perpetual youth. Whatever hopes he might have had
of bringing his sweet rock and roll to the masses have been crushed,
trampled, and stomped into the ground. Thankfully, Universal
Truths and Cycles suggests that Pollard may still have a few
choice treats for those of us who are still paying attention.
-Matt LeMay, June 24th, 2002