Review: Guided By Voices – Cool Planet

For those uninitiated into the ‘cult of Bob’ Pollard and GBV the best advice might be ‘give it time.’ These ideosyncratic sound worlds, like classic rock from another dimension, can take a while to kick in. But man, when they do … This one, like last year’s release, Motivational Jumpsuit, may be a grower, but it takes till the third track, ‘Psychotic Crush,’ penned by guitarist Tobin Sprout, to generate much heat. Most of the rest of the album is Pollard’s surrealistic British-style artsy miniatures like ‘Hat Of Flames.’ He frames many ideas as musical sketches, but likes to also include epics like ‘Table At Fool’s Tooth,’ to full-out rock. The reunited ‘classic GBV’ lineup has cranked out a few albums that might not reach the high bar of their early masterpieces, but there are always a few gems like ‘Table’ and ‘All American Boy,’ one of Sprout’s finest compositions. –Stakerized!