What the hell is that noise?
Oh never mind, here’s a very Guided by Voices by riff… and here’s another one overlaying it, and then we’re in to Space Gun.
After just the blink of an eye, Guided by Voices are once again back and sounding in fine fettle, and “Space Gun” as a song is the type of indie rocker that Robert Pollard has been pulling out of his top draws for over three decades now. In fact pretty much the whole album is. Space Gun is Guided by Voices’ 30th studio album in 31 years, and that’s not including their four live albums, and the 28 Pollard has released under his own name. Oh, and then there is the plethora of other acts he is a member of. The term ‘prolific’ barely scratches the surface.
By this point, you might expect Pollard’s quality control to be shot to pieces, but on the strength of the 15 track Space Gun, he’s still capable of greatness and capable of retaining enough focus to ensure that only the opening title track clocks in at over four minutes. Brevity is key on Space Gun, with the majority of songs clocking in at under three minutes, ensuring the songs come at you in a rapid fire style, do exactly what they need to do, then the next one comes along before the notion of you possibly being bored sets in.
While the energy level does seem to dip in the last three or four tracks, you can only marvel that Pollard continues to make so much good music as frequently as he does. There are at least half a dozen racks on Space Gun which stand proudly alongside Pollard’s best, and he really does show no sign of slowing down at any point soon.
