A band with no sign of slowing down, Guided By Voices are back with their first album of 2022. Crystal Nuns Cathedral, out tomorrow, rocks hard, favoring a somewhat leaden touch at times, but it's still something fans need to hear. It also has, in "Mad River Man", one of Robert Pollard's best compositions in at least a year or so.
"Climbing a Ramp" suggests that the band's been listening to early Seventies Who again, while the far more robust "Never Mind the List" feels like something from the Under The Bushes, Under The Stars era, roughed up with louder guitars. Elsewhere, Pollard and crew give "Come North Together" a vibe that's part Oasis, part Badfinger, while the brighter "Excited Ones" meanders a bit until it bursts open with a very fine chorus.
If some of Crystal Nuns Cathedral feels like we're hearing a band retread recently-trod paths in search of a new angle, there's stuff here that genuinely thrills. The title cut, for instance, marries a Britpop-ish basicness with the kind of crunchy chords that GBV have favored in the last year or two, while "Mad River Man" is just fantastic. The catchiest thing Bob's penned in at least 18 months, this cut is pure AOR bliss. As infectious as the GBV tunes of old, but louder, punchier, and harder. The song is so good that it sort of singlehandedly steers the second half of the rather brief Crystal Nuns Cathedral in the direction of glory.
Crystal Nuns Cathedral is out tomorrow via Rockathon.
More details on Guided by Voices via the band's official websie.
[Photo: Tony Nelson]