If Robert Pollard sounds tired in "This Will Go On", a listener can't blame him. We keep coming to these new Guided By Voices albums like the folks who order Taco Bell thinking that it will taste like real Mexican food. Guided By Voices have promised that Strut of Kings, out this Friday, is their only release of 2024. Judging by these results, I'd say that's a good thing.
Robert Pollard came up with some clever titles this time around but, unfortunately, "Cavemen Running Naked" and "Olympus Cock in Radiana" don't live up to them. These are unimaginative, plodding workouts that really don't advance even a smidgen of a new idea for this outfit. Lead single "Serene King" is catchy, but that's only one song out of 11 here. "Fictional Environment Dream" briefly catches fire atop a hook that I feel like I've heard from this band already in the Nineties, and the doleful "Bit of a Crunch" is marginally affecting (though a bit too long), but this reviewer is being very generous because I'm loyal to the legacy of Guided By Voices.
I've been with this band for 30 years. I like them. Their music has inspired me for so long that it really sort of pains me to write such a negative review but the truth is the truth. It's the law of diminishing returns and this band have finally been sentenced. You'd have to have a Deadhead-like stamina to really find much to love here on Strut of Kings.
Strut of Kings by Guided By Voices is out on Friday via Rockathon Records.
[Photo: Trevor Naud]