The second Guided by Voices album of 2021 is the obnoxiously titled, It's Not Them, It Couldn't Be Them, It Is Them. Technically, it's the third if you count their release Clang Clang Ho under the moniker Cub Scout Bowling Pins. For the purposes of this deep dive, I'm not. For the purposes of this post, I will refer to this album simply as It's Not Them. I love the cover of this record. It features bassist Mark Shue, legs akimbo, finger pointed to the sky, beer bottle in his left hand and cigarette dangling. The color scheme is also quite striking with olive green lettering and gray background. It's Not Them perfectly illustrates why I gave Earth Man Blues 3-stars and rate this one at 4-stars. It's still plenty weird, but it's a confident, consolidated band effort with some interesting production. Pollard's vocals are strong, even when he's indulging in some of his "idiosyncrasies". Doug Gillard also contributes some impressive string and horn arrangements on several tracks.
Right out of the gate is the song "Spanish Coin" in which Gillard plays flamenco-style guitar and adds swelling strings and trumpet. It's a singular track in the Guided by Voices catalog. It really sets the tone for what's to come over 41 minutes. This is followed up by the two standout songs on It's Not Them, "High in the Rain" and "Dance of Gurus". "High in the Rain" sounds like classic early 2000's Guided by Voices, catchy and muscular. "Dance of Gurus" has some great lyrics, "raise a drink to a planet rich in symbols", "no salute to a marcher's boot, that's for beginners" and "Buy me a Big Mac". Even "weird" tracks like "Flying Without a License" and "Maintenance Man of the Haunted House" are musically adventurous. There's also an obligatory epic track, "Black and White Eyes in a Prism". It's a nice composition and Pollard is in top form. Great lyrics. Then there's the delightful track, "People Need Holes". "People need holes to climb inside. People need cars to go for a ride". Yes, they do Uncle Bob.
In the Guided by Voices online community, the a-Capella track "Razor Bug" has become a meme and somewhat of a litmus test. It's arguably Robert Pollard's most bonkers one-minute of recorded "music". It's a spoken word piece in which Pollard may or may not have consumed a few "pops". You can almost sense the rest of the band standing around trying not to crack up while he recorded it. "Razor bug is coming with his golden boots and clubs. Razor bug is here with his surfboard suicide. Razor bug is back with his vegetable girls. Razor bug is thirsty drinking Greenworm soda. Razor bug is talent let him join your jacket. Razor bug is out there in the clearing of his pimples. Razor bug is goofy from the shots". I think it's hilarious. Count me as Team Razor Bug.
In a world where the past 30 years of music has hardly evolved or changed, and everyone worships nostalgia, it's nice that a band like Guide by Voices can exist and make music that challenges the listener and pushes the envelope. And they are a dynamic live band. As Bob once said, "Isn't it great to exist at this point in time?" Peace.
I tried to attach a video for Razor Bug, but it wouldn't come up as an option. I also tried to attach the music video for "Dance of Gurus" and that wouldn't come up either. I'm not sure what I ended up attaching, but I can't figure out how to get rid of it. Hopefully it's not something dumb. Please try to find those videos for yourself. Once again, Peace.
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