Guided by Voices: Space Gun ( 2018 )

      Guided by Voices really slacked off in 2018, only releasing one album. That album was the 5-star banger, Space Gun. All the promise of Robert Pollard's new lineup comes together here. Pollard is at the top of his game, as well. Space Gun is a fun, high energy, tour de force. I actually picked up this album at Sonic Boom Records in Seattle, while on vacation. 

     My favorite track by this lineup of Guided by Voices is "Gray Spat Matters". Pollard's delivery is perfect, and I love Doug Gillard's insistent chord changes. It's a classic, hit and run Guided by Voices song that clocks in at 1:29. The next track is "That's Good", which is the most beautifully produced song in the band's entire catalog. It would fit magnificently on The Flaming Lips masterpiece The Soft Bulletin. Bob's vocals are subdued, but confident. The other standout track on Space Gun is "See My Field". It's a fast-paced rocker in the tradition of the bands Earthquake Glue era when Gillard and Kevin March were originally members. 

     There are a number of delightfully bonkers tracks on Space Gun. Rather than being goofy throw away tunes like Pollard has done in the past, they are actually nice, fleshed out songs. "Colonel Paper" is a fantastic song title and it's a mash up of references to Colonel Saunders and rolling cigarettes. It has some classic Pollard lines like, "Are you like extra crispy when you wake up", "Is it fish or chicken", and "Who is this Colonel Paper of whom you speak?" Another great song title is "King Flute", which is exactly what the song is about. "Blink Blank" begins with the epic stanza, "Lighthouse black. Coffee can blue. I lost an umbrella looking for you in a shit storm". By far, the wackiest song is "I Love Kangaroos". It's a sweet pop tune about youth, growing up, and being amused by kangaroos. 

     The rest of the album is comprised of top-notch, straight-ahead rockers. "Evolution Circus" closes out the record and opens with another brilliant lyric by Pollard, "Columbus and all his troops were photographing bulldozers before they flattened back the Earth". There are no duds on this album. Oh, and the title track is pretty good too. Peace.