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Release Info: Fire Records will be releasing an exclusive 7" single 'Doughnut For A Snowman', from the brand new Guided By Voices album Let's Go Eat The Factory. Featuring the 'classic' line up of Robert Pollard, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell, Tobin Sprout, Greg Demos and Jimmy Pollard at their improv best, 'Doughnut For A Snowman' is, in Robert Pollard's own words, "the twinkliest song" he's ever written.
The 7" single features four exclusive B-sides; 'So High' - a previously recorded (unreleased) Robert Pollard song (Robert played the recorder!), a portion of which was edited into the song 'Doughnut for the Snowman' for the album; 'Without Necks' and 'Fish On My Leg' were recorded at Mitch's house by Bob, Mitch & GBV secret weapon Jim Pollard; '1234' is a new Tobin Sprout song.
After a fifteen year hiatus, Guided By Voices finish off their 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 Guided By Voices in both its literal and mythic senses.
"At first I said: no reunion, period," explains Pollard about the decision to revive Guided By Voices. "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, Let's Go Eat the Factory 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 six out of the 21 songs.
The aesthetic is very much in keeping with Guided By Voices, 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.
'Doughnut For A Snowman' is taken from the LP Let's Go Eat The Factory, which will be released 16 January 2012 on Fire Records. |
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