Following last December’s slightly underwhelming ‘Styles We Paid For’, Dayton, Ohio indie rock institution Guided By Voices have released a corking new single ahead of its follow-up, ‘Earth Man Blues’. ‘Trust Them Now’ feels very redolent of the start of spring and features gorgeous, chiming guitars and melodic vocals. The producer handles both the backing and Robert Pollard’s lead vocals equally adeptly in terms of highlighting their vividness, while the guitars recall Dinosaur Jr. and Hüsker Dü at their best.
According to Rolling Stone, ‘Earth Man Blues’ doesn’t feature any new material, but comprises previously unreleased songs from various points in GBV’s 38-year career that are reminiscent of artists as diverse as Black Sabbath, The Who, the Monkees, and early 00s pop-punk bands. It’s unclear whether ‘Trust Them Now’ is representative of the overall quality of the music on ‘Earth Man Blues’, or as unrepresentative of it as ‘Mr. Child’ was of that on ‘Styles We Paid For’, but if the former is the case, then GBV’s 33rd full-length studio album (and sixth in two years) should be a rip-roaring listen. ‘Earth Man Blues’ is released via GBV Inc on April 30th. Pre-order it here.
