Customer Reviews

Under the Bushes Under the Stars

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"Under the Bushes Under the Stars" is probably not the place for a new Guided by Voices fan to get started, but in my opinion, it's their best album.

Most of the songs on "Under the Bushes" take a few listens to unfold. The whole album has a languid, melancholy feel, in contrast to the hyperactive hookiness of "Bee Thousand" and "Alien Lanes." The sound is dominated by dark, murky guitars-- almost a throwback to "Vampire on Titus," but with cleaner production. There are a few brighter tracks clustered toward the end ("Underwater Explosions" indeed), but nothing here is as sunny and instantly accessible as, say, "Echoes Myron."

Over time, though, that works to the album's advantage. It demands and rewards repeated listening, individual songs gradually breaking out of the murk and lodging themselves addictively in your brain. It's also ingeniously sequenced and paced, alternating small groups of darker songs and more upbeat tracks. The cryptic, cacophonous "Man Called Aerodynamics" distinguishes itself as one of GBV's greatest album openers, and the next couple of tracks keep the momentum going strong. "Burning Flag Birthday Suit" employs the classic Pollard trick of building from solo guitar and vocals to a startling full-band climax in barely over two minutes. The next few tracks chime and chug along in a low-key, gloomy vein, until "Your Name is Wild" and "Ghosts of a Different Dream" raise the tempo and infuse a welcome jolt of energy. The haunting, acoustic "Acorns & Orioles" brings things down again for a few more tracks, until the aforementioned "Underwater Explosions" and Tobin Sprout's "Atom Eyes" finally provide a glimpse of sunlight.

Those songs set the stage for the breathtakingly gorgeous "Don't Stop Now," for my money the best song Robert Pollard has ever written. Who else could wring such beauty and pathos from a song about a rooster named Big Daddy? "Don't Stop Now" may be a tough act to follow but "Office of Hearts" is up to the task, closing the album on a dissonant, slightly unsettling note.

But wait, this is a Guided by Voices album, which means we have six more tracks that happened to be lying around and got tacked on the end. These extra songs may not exactly fit into the vibe established by the album proper, but they're worthy additions, "Big Boring Wedding" and the exuberant "Drag Days" standing out in particular.

"Under the Bushes Under the Stars" encompasses all sides of GBV, from solo fragments like "Bright Paper Werewolves" to intricate rockers like "Cut-Out Witch" to weird experiments like "Take to the Sky" to loud chug-fests like "Lord of Overstock," but wraps it all in a coherent and compelling package. Robert Pollard's lyrics throughout the album are some of the most cryptic and intriguing in his entire catalog. "Under the Bushes" is decidedly darker in tone than most Guided by Voices albums, and it may take a few listens to grow on you, but if you let it sink in you'll find GBV's richest and most rewarding album.

Yes, the sprawling lo-fi masterpieces Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes get all the credit, but Under The Bushes Under The Stars is GBV embracing hi-fi production and letting their power-pop brilliance shine through in an easier to swallow form. Some of the best tunes on Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes had strong arena-ready melodies beneath the murky lo-fi hiss and muffles (as evidenced by the hi-fi re-recordings of "Game Of Pricks," "I Am A Scientist," "Motor Away," and "My Valuable Hunting Knife"), and while the lo-fi production allowed for a certain unearthed garage relic feel, GBV sounds just as powerful in a more crystal-clear format. Keep in mind, the production on UTBUTS may still be turn-off for people raised-on radio-ready alt-rock, but it's still a revelation for fans of GBV's earlier work. Which ever side of GBV you prefer, UTBUTS has less fragments and more solid tunes. Despite an almost dark tone at the start of the record, UTBUTS progresses into a set of bright, brilliant pop tunes. The one thing GBV doesn't get credit for is that their albums work really well as full pieces as the fragmented pieces on Alien Lanes and Bee Thousand work better in the context of an album rather than on their own. That said, UTBUTS has so many great songs to choose from: "The Official Ironman Rally Song," "Man Called Aerodynamics," "Don't Stop Now," "Big Boring Wedding," "Your Name Is Wild," "Underwater Explosions," "Drag Days," etc. For those who need a good introduction to Guided By Voices, Under The Bushes... might be the perfect introduction. And for fans, this is a must-have, a incredibly consistent album for a band with a pretty inpenitrable, sometimes spotty discography.

This one really sneaks up on you. Songs like "Your Name is Wild" and "Drag Days" haunt you in your sleep after a while... and those aren't even the "singles" on the album. It's produced by Kim Deal too, which, in my opinion, keeps the album from having a definitive "sound," and that's a good thing. Yes, there are some more "taditional gbv" sounds (4-trackish muffle, super-wet vocal fx, etc), as well as some more polished "arena rock"-ish stuff, which keeps it varied and ultimately keeps your interest; aka, your favorite songs after the first week will be quite different than your favorite songs further down the road. And for an album with 20+ tracks, there's really not a stinker in the bunch. And that my friends is a real feat. If you own just one gbv album, this may not be it, but if you own two...

Considering how much music I've listened to and reviewed by these guys, it's surprising to recognize how little I know about them. Although I've listened to (the equivalent of) perhaps a dozen albums worth of music, I still cannot say I understand Guided By Voices, and I like that. They are a band that keeps me guessing, that forces me to listen with my wits as much as my ears, and I like that, too. With lyrics that are as opaque as a kaleidoscope, there just isn't much that is tangible enough to provide a foothold.
The most obvious trait of GBV is their tendency to take a song just past the point of creativity, and then record it, unadorned. For music fans who listen creatively, this is great fun, because it forces the listener to hear the song from an angle that is obliquely opposed to most pop music. It isn't ear candy, and without the production values that are now considered `normal' or essential for the pop marketplace, we either hear the song through the gauze of `low-fi' or we ignore it entirely. I hate to admit this, but the average Joe on the street likes his music to be provided for him; let radio rotate a few prefabricated variations on familiar themes, and Joe Public is fine with it. He would hate Guided By Voices, and the reasons are simple. The primary reason is that this band avoids the polish and sheen of production values the way that cats avoid swimming pools. I might not know much about the band themselves, but their work methods seem to be fairly obvious. After a song is written, the recording commences soon afterward. Once the song is set down, it is left in that state as if it were preserved in aspic. It's a strange methodology because it relies on the infinite possibilities of initial creation, but forces the process to end at that point.
On Under the Bushes Under the Stars, Guided By Voices allow themselves a bit more leeway with production (just a bit), and the album benefits greatly from it. After all, why can't production (or post-production, for that matter) be used as a creative tool? The five tracks that kick off the album make this point abundantly clear, with an attention to detail that is nowhere near anal, but at least shows some consideration for the intelligent songs they decorate. "Rhine Jive Click", "Burning Flag Birthday Suit" and "The Official Ironman Rally Song" sound exactly like Guided By Voices, but they also sound good enough for commercial airplay. One song, "Don't Stop Now" is a re-recording of an earlier song, and true to what I had said earlier, its arrangement remains absolutely true to the low-fi version it updates, except with a production that suits it better and makes it more appealing. These guys still might not get airplay, but after this album, I can no longer say that it is simply because the band chooses it to be that way. Who knows? If radio stations started playing "Lord of Overstock", maybe Joe Public would hum along. A Tom Ryan

I doubt I'll be able to add much to what has already been said here, but I have come to believe over the years that Under the Bushes is GBV's greatest album (I'm writing this about two weeks after Earthquake Glue was released.) Though Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes always seem to be the two cds most fans and critics apparently think are the band's best work, I believe that time will show this to be the best of a brilliant trio (B1000, AL, UTBUTS). The sound is significantly better though hardly hi fidelity; the songs are better thought out and performed (and there are LOADS of excellent songs on this album); and I think UTBUTS is more consistent than either B1000 or AL. This isn't the album for a newbie to latch onto...that would probably be either any of the GBV albums released from '99 on...but ultimately this is the one! Get it if you enjoy crunchy, melodic, almost-homemade rock and roll. And this is the so-called classic line-up's greatest moment to boot.

Nevermind Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, sure they were cool and had a bunch of great songs on them, but this is by far the best Guided By Voices album. Why those albums get labelled 'classics' ahead of this masterpiece is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I love them too, but where they had a scattering of amazing songs mixed in with a bunch of random weirdness, this album has simply a series of 24 perfect songs. It is also possibly the best indicator of GBV's sound overall, a combination of the lofi pop of their earlier stuff and the midfi rock that would follow. The lyrics here remain pretty obscure, but not so much so that it detracts from the emotional heft of the songs (ie there is no 'kicker of elves' here.) Hell, even the cover is better on this album, and my copy came with a disc containing the Tigerbomb ep and some other bonus tracks. Niiice.

Under the Bushes, Under the Stars brought GBV to nationwide fame... principally by employing some genuine studio sound! Indeed, previous albums had been of unusually poor sound quality, but many fans were disgusted with lead man Robert Pollard for making this jump. And that's too bad, really.

But sound is not what this album is about. More than anything it's about density. LOTS of music is packed in here, and if the album lacks at all it's in continuity. Of course, this is assembled from a hodge podge of false starts (including sessions with Steve Albini and Kim Deal)and was thrown together at the last minute, so I suppose it's all understandable. And the music?

"Don't Stop Now" is fabulous, but "Acorns and Orioles" is unusually beautiful. "The Official Ironmen Rally Song" was the hit, but "Cut Out Witch" and the magnificent "Red Men and their Wives" should have been... Many of the best tracks are at the end, I might add, but most of it's good... Only a few of Pollard's notorious "filler" songs. Again, the only real problem is the jumps in production quality and continuity... but don't let that distract you from a worthy album.

how do you follow up the twin lo-fi greatness of bee thousand and alien lanes? you don't. to his credit, robert pollard knew this. this is the record that comfortably straddles the band's basement past and its slick future. the resulting effort is stellar. gone is the laser-like focus of the aforementioned jewels, replaced by a dark universe where there is no joy and fear seems to be the only common thread. this is the domain of the cut-out witch. her spell is cast largely on this entire songscape. the entire record revolves around that one brilliant song. and she CAN change your life.

This is probably my favorite GbV album along with Bee Thousand right now. This was my first, but I didn't like it...til I got a "feel" for GbV. The songs are catchy and awesome in mid-fi. This was the the Last album with Tobin and the old GbV. Tobin wrote some awesome songs that stood out on here(does he ever not). "Atom Eyes", "Remake The Young Flyer" and my fave "It's Like Soul Man". Classic Tobin right there!

Pollard is always the man...with awesome tunes like opener "Man Called Aerodynamics", the sincere "No Sky", Led Zeppelin-esque acoustic "Bright Paper Werewolves", my other fave "Your Name is Wild", Behind Blue Eyes intro of "Acorn and Orioles", the strange "Look at Them", etc. But the best part is the unlisted songs that the band rushed on. "Big Boring Wedding" is supreme!

Guided By Voices have been one of my very favorite bands for several years now, and I have the release of this phenomenal album to thank for it. Mere words can't express how much I love this band, and I am in 100% agreement with the praise/adulation of the other fans posted here. This is one of Robert Pollard and Co.'s best, and you will definitely want to hear/own more by this fantastic band after listening to it. As long as GBV exsists and puts out new music, I will always be there in support of their creative genius..this is one band you can't afford to pass up, they are THAT wonderful!!