Guided By Voices - Universal Truths and Cycles (19 tracks) +Album Reviews

Please keep rocking, bob

Sam Bloom | Indianapolis, IN United States | 10/16/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you want to rock like you haven't rocked since 1973, GBV is for you. If you like your songs short, not-so-sweet, and to the point, GBV is for you. If you enjoy concerts where the band drink like fish and the lead singer poses like a strange Roger Daltrey/Robert Plant/Bon Scott hybrid, GBV is for you.With lots of GBV stuff, it's hit-or-miss, but not here. From the opening rocker "Wire Greyhounds" to the closing sing-along "Father Sgt. Christmas Card," Robert Pollard and the crew deliver the goods in prime 1960s British Invasion fashion. Other standouts (and already GBV classics) include "Christian Animation Torch Carriers," "Cheyenne," "Eureka Signs," and "The Ids are Alright."If you are a fan of: the Kinks, the Who, the Beatles, the Hollies, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Zombies, etc.: BUY THIS ALBUM! You won't be sorry. And while you're at it, buy the earlier GBV stuff, too. Just throw that money around. Pollard and Co. will toast you with a Miller Lite at their next sloshy show."

First Universal Truth...A Classic in Form, Flow & Production

lrutigliano | 06/19/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Critics have been writing that this album is a "return" to the greatness of Alien Lanes, Bee Thousand era GbV but that would be an oversimplification....Because this collection of songs moves the band forward in many different ways.Yes, there's the short songs peppered through this album ala Alien Lanes...But Pollard has totally mastered the art of writing a short yet complete song like Wire Greyhounds :36 the opener on Universal Truths.Yes there are many of these brief mid-fi jewels(Zap,Love 1,The Weeping Bogeyman,Factory of Raw Essentials,The Ids are Alright)and they are the glue that flows this album so perfectly.But what I truly love about this album are the prog rock songs.These four songs are standouts: Christian Animation Torch Carriers,Storm Vibrations,Pretty Bombs & Car Language.Christian Animation Torch Carriers & Storm Vibrations are beautiful songs that build with soaring & crashing melodies.Pretty Bombs uses brilliantly twisted instrumentation from a string quartet to push the envelope of experimentation.Car Language also pushes the envelope with nifty little sound effects....guitars beeping like car horns but not in an obvious way, kind of swirling through the song for you discover for yourself..Again GENIUS.Yes and there are the singles those catchy songs that Pollard writes so effortlessly.There are 3 standouts, Cheyenne(pristine Pollard vocals & phrasing)Everywhere with Helicopter(infectious rocker)Back to the Lake(another beauty)The remaining songs a little harder to catagorize but they are just as good, Skin Parade( a bit of a stomper),The Whoish Wings of Thorn,Eureka Signs, From a Voice Plantation...and the perfect album closer,Father Sargent Christmas Card.This self produced album has it all;it brings all together in form, flow & production & it pushes the artistic envelope in all the right places.Buy it now!"

Addition by Subtraction for GbV

slappy | somewhere else | 06/26/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a pretty good record that could've been better had an editor come in and yanked some filler out. In baseball, the principle is called addition by subtraction - you "subtract" your worst player and "add" wins. Those spaces where filler resides used to be the slots where Tobin Sprout got a sniff. I'm not one who constantly pines for Toby's return, but he did bring some gems to the listening party.Robert Pollard is an amazing songwriter who's written more than his fair share of dynomite rock-n-roll, and he comes up big again. What GbV lacks in variety on the album is tempered by some straight-up rock anthems that can peel the lead-based paint off you government housing apartment. How's his singing? "My tongue moves slow..." Never better.The best two songs on the record are "Wire Greyhounds" - a burst of 30-second joy - and "Pretty Bombs" - a beautiful song that is on par with anything on Isolation Drills. While "Universal Truths and Cycles" is not among GbV's best...Buy it, edit it to your own tastes, and enjoy one of the best records of the year."

Return to Form...Bob is the King

lrutigliano | 06/25/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bob has a way of taking all that has been done before and filtering it down to the best elements. This album is diverse and glorious. One of GBV's most consistent offerings, it also offers flashes of the brilliance we all love from Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, etc. A real plus here is the spontaneity of mid-90's GBV coupled with a reasonable level of fidelity. Wire Greyhounds, Skin Parade, Storm Vibrations, Everywhere With Helicopter, Eureka Signs, and Cheyenne are all instantly enjoyable. Most of the others will creep up on you the way Bee Thousand did after 7 or 8 listens. Bob is without question the greatest songwriter of the last decade assuming "great" is defined by the sheer number of outstanding rock songs written over the period. Long live Bob Pollard."

Still going strong

goofyyak | Cincinnati | 04/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first saw GBV, 13 years ago at the Canal Street Tavern in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio. Words can't describe how continually awestruck I am with the music Bob Pollard and the rest of his band mates are able to put out. Folks, Pollard is in his 40's and he is still able to create music that a 20 year old can listen to and associate with. Few people have that kind of talent. In fact, it's about time someone that has alot of media power gives this guy the respect he completely deserves by calling him the best song writer in rock and roll. I cannot think of one person that has written and performed such young feeling songs for such a long period of time and never sway to the bland pop, ungeniune side of rock music. Not one. This album is no exception to the norm for Pollard and the rest of GBV. It's poetic, rockin, understandable, yet complex and rebellious. Pollard's songwriting is anything but simple and it shows on U.T.C. Give it up for a band that doesn't break down it's uniqueness just to sell a few more records. This band and this album is not for the pop-rock/alternative listening audience. You all probably are too pretentious to really appreciate music like this. Here's to hoping these guys can carry on this torch for many years to come and hopefully get the attention they deserve."

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