Customer Reviews

Earthquake Glue

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

all these comparisons with other albums..gbv fans all have their favorites but how would one describe this record to someone that does not know gbv? that is the question no? after all we're all going to buy it...
to me the sound on this album has a lot of who with a sprinkling equal parts rush and the beatles....its definetly a ROCK or RAWK album rather than a pop album.... the first side (i have the lp) or first 8 songs are a bit lighter and poppier than the second side which is heavier and more prog like...the two catchy singles are really something: "my kind of soldier" and "the best of jill hives" and are propelled by nice bass action..."my kind of soldier" was recorded last and added to the record and its production seems a bit brighter .... this is not a lo fi record by any means... but it does have its lo fi moments as the recording of a middle school band playing some horns at the beginning of "my son, my secretary and my country" (i think this is a really great touch btw...that song along with jill hives most harks back to the so called classic gbv sound.. but gbv has moved on in the past few years.. and what they give us here is the best rock record i've heard so far this year... be cautioned that like all gbv records this requires repeated listenings... the first time may be unerwhelming as it takes a while to get past the density of the sound (again , except for jill hives , the title track and the second song).. ..the doug gilliard lead guitar is very prominent and means the bass can seem a bit buried.. this is what separates it from alien lanes where greg demos' bass was more up front and often drove the melody (ie, as we go up we go down).... if you enjoy playing the air guitar you'll dig this record..try it on "useless inventions"... as things stand i think this is the best official gbv record since under the bushes, under the stars... the lyrics at first may skirt by you but as usual with guided by beers you begin to pick up parts here and there and this allows you to imagine what the song is bout.. which i think is one of the nice things about gbv.. that they allow the listener to interact.... after listening to this record a bunch i still could not tell you what its about save to say that there is social/political commentary going on.. there's a line i like "stock markets tumbling, rock markets crumbling"...... there are the usual mentions of satellites and space imagery.. "of mites and men" the closing track closes the album in typical ROCKing gbv fashion... lastly, i saw them live at live on penn a few weeks ago and they kicked it performing these songs live..so they can back it up.... there are some beautiful lead guitar touches on "beat your wings" and "of mites and men".. good guitar tone...
anyways, i'm strongly recommending this album.. if you have the patience to listen to it a few times you will like this..

When compared to the norm of music of the day, anything that Robert Pollard and GBV put out are way and above better. All of the GBV ctalog are pretty much 5 star recordings and this one is no different. This is sort of a return to the mid 90's sound (of course cleaned up) with some new prog sounds in it.
Not only do I love this disc I have not been able to get it out of my car stereo for over a week now. Catchy tunes abound (My Kind of Soldier, The best of Jill Hives, Useless Inventions, and my favorite Main Street Wizards)and the band is awesome on this one, most notably the bass playing of Tim Tobias. Doug and Nate are tight as always.
The problem I have is with these people who just won't let go of the Bee Thousand days or even the new generation of the HiFi GBV fans (Do the Collapse or Isolation Drills). Earthquake Glue (especially) and UTAC are a couple of the best GBV recordings period. The charm of the early GBV can never be recaptured but the songs the Bob writes now are as strong and probably more inventive. And as I like the HiFi recordings also they sounded a bit to forced to make a big record instead of just letting it go naturally, they are still good.

Earthquake Glue rocks and everyone knows it. SO lowfi snobs need to get over it and the hifi crowd needs to learn what GBV was all about to begin with, but hey that's my opinion.

This album seems to really take off in its second half. Specifically, Dead Cloud through Secret Star represent a solid sinewy block of R. Pollard at his most deeply fascinating, adventurous and, yes, hook-laden. The "singles" on this album are great, catchy, etc, but knowing how easy it is for Pollard to write that sort of thing I'm not really all that impressed by Soldier, Inventions, and particularly Best of Jill Hives which is by far my least favorite song on the album, though undeniably pretty.

The song I find most fascinating, for very strange reasons, is probably "Beat Your Wings" which is so lazily infectious in its tumbling flapping rhythm that it actually tends to get immediately tiring... yes, it's boring AND catchy. This is when I really feel like I'm exploring the "playground in [Pollard's] head". In fact, the entire album's "tired" vocal sound, as one reviewer put it, is dead on... there's something wild about the idea of having so many brilliant ideas and melodies rollicking through your head that it gets burdensome... effortless brilliance can be a curse, and it can also provide the instant soundtrack to the state of fatigue it itself creates, and I have never heard that manifest as beautifully as on this album.

The hole he digs is bottomless, indeed.

"Earthquake Glue" took about a year for me to get into. As a long time GBV fan, I initially didn't like this at all, I should know by now, as a lot of Robert Pollard's music takes time to give rewards. I kept wanting it to sound like "Isolation Drills" or "Alien Lanes", but once I listened to it for what it is, not what I wanted it to be, I loved it. So many brilliant songs here, like "Mix Up The Satelite", "Useless Inventions", "Beat Your Wings","Dead Cloud", "My Kind of Soldier" and "Dirty Water"...these tunes are really fresh and exciting. Don't expect "Glad Girls" or "Echoes Myron" part 2, though-this is Robert Pollard evolving and moving forward, a nice contrast to the prevoius album, "Universal Truths And Cycles". The arrangements and moods are really fascinating, maybe a little downbeat, but also uplifting in places. Of course, amazing lyrics here and every song paints a colorful picture. Listen to this at home at high volume, and be open minded about it...The drumming of Kevin March is awesome, well done. Another classic in the GBV library.
-Mike A.

--It goes without saying that Guided By Voices will never recapture the magic they posessed when they were on the forefront of indie-rock scen in the mid 1990's. What great rock n' roll band ever gets back to their glory days? What is noteworthy, though, is that Robert Pollard could've stuck to that classic low-fi sound, churning short, simple rock tunes forever, but instead he's kept it fresh by putting out much more complex recordings (which, by no surprise, are much more challenging to the ear). Of course, I prefer "Bee Thousand" to "Earthquake Glue", just like any self-respecting GBV fan would, but, they're still one of the best rock n' roll bands in the world. I'm glad they've changed gears. This album still has all the things we associate with great GBV recordings--great chord progressions, short, catchy, songs, great guitar sounds, and spacey lyrics. "Earthquake Glue", I think, is a major improvement over "Universal Truths And Cycles", just because it's a much more consistantly pleasing record.

This album is a success on so many different levels. I've been waiting for the post-Alien Lanes GBV album that explodes with positivity while embracing the next level of production that Bob loves. "Earthquake" does just that.

Nearly every song is blurrily, happily infectuous. The guitars chime, play octives, wail and buzz and each sound seems to compliment the songwriting. I love how a softer, vocal driven song like "Jill Hives" fits perfectly next to a raunchy guitar driven track like "Dead Cloud." "My Kind of Soldier" and "Secret Star" are GBV by-the-numbers while managing to feel completely fresh and loose. "Satellite" has a pure GBV consciousness while conjuring up, gosh, (at moments) the Go-Betweens. Nothing feels forced. There are other little moments like this when you feel the band synthesizing other influences so perfectly that you almost take for granted how intuitive (and tight!) they've become.

Anyway, don't take my word for it. Download a track from Amazon. Or better, see them live. These songs burn on stage.

It's hard to put a finger on what makes this band so good but I'll try my best. Without resorting to cheesy self indulgent prog-rock tactics, GBV'S (Pollard's) zillions of songs remain musically and rhythmically interesting. Just when you think they've used every key/time signature, tempo, musical feel, melody etc., out comes another GBV release with YET EVEN MORE INTERESTING STUFF without that hodge-podge amalgamated throw-it-all-in-but-the-kitchen-sink method that so many bands are guilty of. What's so astonishing however is the complete lack of airplay this band receives. You can always count on a new GBV release to contain AT LEAST A HANDFUL of amazing tunes. Case in point: "I'll Replace You With Machines" (gotta love THAT title), "Beat Your Wings", and the majestic "The Best of Jill Hives" are just a minor sampling of Earthquake Glue's treasures. Equally addicting and rewarding, you'll find yourself inspired to re-familiarize yourself with the old classics (Alien Lanes, Bee Thousand, Under the Bushes Under the Stars).

Following last years "Universal Truths and Cycles" singer/songwriter Robert Pollard dips back into his bag-o-songs and pulls out fifteen Indie classics. Okay, maybe that's being generous-like all GBV albums there are some songs that are clearly better than others. 'My Kind of Soldier' opens the album, this is also the first single. The production quality is suprisingly good (but not too good). That said, this is not for Lo-Fi GBV purists. If, however, you're like me and love everything the band's done-then this ablum will not dissapoint. 'I'll Replace You With Machines' and 'Useless Inventions' contain Pollards signature lyrics coupled with guitarist Doug Gillard's outstanding musicianship. While not as introspective (and poppy) as "Isolation Drills," "Earthquake Glue" does seem to focus on the times we live in. 'Useless Inventions' seems to go against everything our culture tells us about commercialism and the proliferation of technology. Technology that may "be a miracle or a curse." Interesting coming from a band that only recently embraced "modern" recording processes. 'The Best of Jill Hives' recalls "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" lyrical stylings (listen and you can hear the same vibe as 'Offical Iron Man Rally Song). Overall, I'd say this is another homerun for Pollard. Fanboys like me, and non-fans should pick it up and give it a try. As an aside, these songs kick ass live too! I had the privliage to see GBV in St. Louis last spring-both 'I'll Replace You With Machines' and 'My Kind of Solider' were part of the set-and boy did they blow us away!

This album kicks a**! This is GBV's best since 1995's Alien Lanes. Unlike last year's Universal Truths and Cycles, which had several standout greats (Wire Greyhounds, Christian Animation, Cheyenne, Back to the Lake, etc.) but a few songs which would have been better on a B-side release, Earthquake Glue is consistently excellent from start to finish. Uncle Bob's melodies and choruses continue to amaze and send tingles up the spine: Soldier, Machines, She Goes off at Night, and Useless Inventions are all-out rockers which would be radio hits if the listening public had any taste. Jill Hives is quieter but equally potent. Secret Star's Who-like finish caps off one of the most rocking songs in the GBV canon, which says alot.
The songs from Earthquake Glue are new additions to the BEST back catalog in the history of ROCK! Can't wait for the Hardcore UFO's box set...

I own 33 cd's worth of Robert Pollard+GBV, including their most recent, "Earthquake Glue." As of listen #3, here is my opinion of it. It started out better than "Do The Collapse" and "Isolation Drills" by a long shot. I suspected it was better than their last LP, "Universal Truths and Cycles", which I liked just fine, and that was confirmed on listen number 2. Also during listen #2, I started to make a very exciting realization, which seems to be coming true during listen #3, about halfway through at this point. That is, it might be the mythical return to form, whatever that means. What I mean, I guess, is this is starting to sound like "THE" new school GBV classic. At any rate, I'm pretty sure it's the massive rock/prog/pop album Pollard has been promising for his entire career. Postal Blowfish, rejoice.