Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Guided by Voices - Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia - 1989


Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is the first Guided by Voices album to sound like a Guided by Voices album. For the first time, the band can be heard using low-fi production to their advantage, such as on the opening track, "The Future Is in Eggs," on which Pollard's vocals are blurred like a distorted instrument to complement the track's bleary mood. The improvement in Pollard's melodies here is revelatory, and he and the band move beyond their influences, crafting a blueprint of the signature sound that they would develop to increasingly greater success throughout much of the following decade. Highlights include "The Great Blake St. Canoe Race," the melancholy, harmony-laden "Paper Girl" and the tremolo-heavy ballad, "Liar's Tale." -AMG



RS

MU

3 comments:

melvinrussell said...

Great post! I climbed abroad the GBV train when Bee Thousand came out and never looked back. I never knew this existed. Definitely more lo-fi than later works, but still tuneful. One mystery: can't tell if song #3 is effed up or just ends abruptly. With these guys you can't tell. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

Hi Angelo: Do you have The Sails album from 2006, the one with "Chocolate" and "Wonderland" on it? If so, could you please post/repost it? Thanks very much. Scott ~

Lee said...

I was a late convert to GBV, but have spent a fair amount of time listening to them over the past 18 months. I have lots of catching up to do!

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