Guided by Voices' latest not 'earth' shaking

Critics have begun singing Robert Pollard's praises again … perhaps they spoke too soon. With his highly prolific band, Guided By Voices, Pollard has unleashed Earthquake Glue. \nWhat's here is well-written, sung nicely in Pollard's trademark cigarette-tinged rasp and backed more than ably by his bandmates. True to form, most of the cuts are either too short or too long. If only Pollard had used his unique ability to make a minute-long track seem epic, then the longer cuts wouldn't have collapsed under their own weight.\n There are exceptions to this rule: "My Kind of Soldier" and "The Best of Jill Hives" are reminiscent of older, better and altogether poppier works, featuring hard-driving guitar riffs and catchy choruses. "Mix Up the Satellite" dispels the popular belief that GBV is little more than window dressing to Pollard, as Kevin March's drumming is some of the best I've heard recently.\nNot nearly as solid as the band's revolutionary and best-known effort Isolation Drills nor as entertaining as last year's underrated Universal Truths and Cycles, Earthquake Glue is a tad disappointing. My advice: pick-up one of the aforementioned records or see GBV when they play the Bird again -- this one's for the Guided By Voices faithful only.