Guided by Voices Ready Third New Album of 2012
With a pair of albums already out this year, Guided by Voices releases another new effort this fall — and plans to put out a new album every six months after that, guitarist Tobin Sprout says.
The Bears for Lunch is due in November, and the band is set to begin work on the next LP, English Little League, in August.
Bandleader Robert Pollard reunited the “classic” 1993-’96 version of Guided by Voices in 2010 to play Matador Records’ 21st birthday party in Las Vegas. What started as a one-off gig expanded into a full tour, and Pollard, Sprout, guitarist Mitch Mitchell, drummer Kevin Fennell and bassist Greg Demos have been busy ever since.
“I think the tour went so well, it felt so good to be back together, it was just natural that we would start making records again,” Fennell says. “Everyone’s just really inspired.”
Let’s Go Eat the Factory, released in January, was the classic lineup’s first album of new material since Under the Bushes Under the Stars in 1996. The band followed with Class Clown Spots a UFO in June.
Sonically, Bears has more in common with GBV’s guitar-heavy mid-Nineties LPs, especially Under the Bushes, than with the synthesizers and strings that complement the band’s trademark lo-fi production on Factory and Class Clown.
“Under the Bushes was more longer, developed songs, and that’s kind of what this one is,” Sprout tells Rolling Stone.
Though the band has yet to record English Little League, Sprout says the album already has artwork. Pollard often designs the album covers before recording the songs, which can be helpful for the band.
“You kind of go by the covers to get a feel for it,” says Sprout, who writes songs with the cover of the band’s forthcoming album propped in front of him for inspiration.
In addition to the various Guided by Voices releases, Pollard will put out Jack Sells the Cow, his second solo album of 2012, on September 18th on the band’s label, Guided By Voices Inc.
The Bears for Lunch track listing:
“King Arthur the Red”
“The Corners are Glowing”
“Have a Jug”
“Hangover Child”
“Dome Rust”
“Finger Gang”
“The Challenge Is Much More”
“Waving at Airplanes”
“The Military School Dance Dismissal”
“White Flag”
“Skin to Skin Combat”
“She Lives in an Airport”
“Tree Fly Jet”
“Waking Up the Stars”
“Up Instead of Running”
“Smoggy Boy”
“Amorphous Surprise”
“You Can Fly Anything Right”
“Everywhere Is Miles From Everywhere”