Universal Truths and Cycles
Guided by Voices
Matador Records
On Universal Truths and Cycles, Guided by Voices' 13th album in twelve years (three of which were live), the band returns to its former label, Matador, and to its stripped-down and far more experimental sound.
Unlike GBV's most recent albums, Isolation Drills and Do the Collapse, the band itself produced Universal Truths and Cycles. As a result, GBV has done away with the more polished, pop-friendly sounds of late and returned to a palette similar to their classic album, Bee Thousand. Remnants of pop sheen remain and intermingle with GBV's more avant garde sound to produce an album that's slightly disorienting, yet likable.
The album kicks off with "Wire Greyhounds," a bizarre 36-second snippet that sounds as though it's a leftover from the Hold on Hope EP. This leads into "Skin Parade," a hard-grinding rock machine tinged with initial sadness and nostalgia. GBV frontman Bob Pollard begins the track by singing, "For Chrissakes, Charlie / Send them your love / Pictures from happier times / When babies acted like babies / So did the grown ups / The band played 'We All Fall Down'/ And some of us did…"
"Christian Animation Torch Carriers," a movingly ironic, mellow rocker is held together in later moments by guitarist Doug Gilliard's amazing solos. "Cheyenne" and "Back to the Lake" are infectious pop nuggets perfect for summer listening. The punkish, new-wave sounds of "Everywhere With Helicopter" will surprise even seasoned GBV fans. "Pretty Bombs" may just be one of the prettiest tunes Pollard's ever written. The album's title track, "Universal Truths and Cycles," elicits memories of the band's beloved album Alien Lanes. The album's concluding track "Father Sgt. Christmas Card," is a funky little ditty of staggering beauty.
Not as raw as some previous efforts, but also less polished than others, Universal Truths and Cycles reaches a middle ground that should please fans and new listeners alike. Former schoolteacher Pollard continues to educate audiophiles in the true nature of rock; hopefully they will listen.
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