---Ada Wofford
----Released 20 February 2020 by Rockathon Records
Just last week I put out a review of Green Day’s new LP and described it as what happens when you’re in your 40s and rock music becomes your 9 to 5. As true as that statement is in regards to Green Day and bands like them, it’s not true of Robert Pollard and his punk rock troop, Guided By Voices. Of course, there’s a totally different dynamic at work here. Green Day are commercial rock, they probably have offices or something (And I’ve witness Billy Joe wearing a tie more times than I care to count. Coincidence?). But Guided By Voices never turned in their punk cards, they never got commercial—and while rock n’ roll might be their full-time job, I doubt they keep normal office hours. If Mother of All Motherfuckers is what a careerist rock band creates for their first-quarter product, Surrender Your Poppy Field is what the freelance master-craftsman makes in their garage and sells on their own terms.
I can’t believe GBV’s output. They put out 3 LPs last year, two of them double-albums. And now, just two months into 2020 and we have one of the best GBV releases in recent memory. Robert Pollard’s work ethic is known throughout the industry but I think that the current lineup, which has some younger players, is contributing to this recent surge in productivity. Furthermore, I think these new players are having an influence on the music. Surrender experiments with synths, atmosphere, and strings in a manner I haven’t heard before in GBV.
Album closer, “Next Sea Level” is a beautiful and slow Beatle-esque journey through chugging guitars, moaning strings, and psychedelic synth. “Woah Nelly” is some sort of acid-dream of the 1920s complete with Barbershop backup vocals, haunting string-synths, and plenty of static. But what’s even more impressive than these new sounds are the ambitious arrangements and structures. These new sounds never feel tacked on or added as an afterthought in the editing room. The strings and synths are used very purposefully and serve to elevate these songs from good to great.
Songs such as “Physician” and “Year of the Hard Hitter” employ masterful arrangements—growing and shifting, surprising and delighting. Many of the songs on Surrender function as 2 or 3 mini-songs pasted together. What’s so impressive though is how cohesive they sound. “Physician” functions as a punk rock "Bohemian Rhapsody," jumping from chugging power chords, to a stomper riff, into a blistering solo, and all without missing a beat or feeling forced.
My favorite two tracks are the singles, “Man Called Blunder” and “Volcano.” Pollard finds a new character in his voice on “Man Called Blunder” and uses it to great effect. There’s nothing over-the-top or crazy going on in this track but it’s classic GBV with just a hint of newness. In other words, it’s exactly what fans like myself want. The verses of “Volcano” almost sounds like they could be from a Blur or Pavement track. The bass-line is so satisfying and catchy. Pollard's flanger-infused voice softly carries the verse melody before the song erupts into a wall of fuzzed-out power chords; ushering in the type of slow, heavy, power-pop chorus that makes me glad to be alive. It’s everything I love about rock music in one track.
Surrender Your Poppy Field is one of Guided By Voices’ best efforts to date. I’ll be honest and tell you that no, I haven’t heard every album. And no, I certainly haven’t heard every Pollard solo album or all of his side projects. I have heard a lot of it though and this album is up there with the best. I encourage you to sit down and listen to this album. I’m sure many of you haven’t even gotten through last year’s albums yet but it doesn’t matter. They’re not going anywhere. Just stop what you’re doing and blast this album!
If you’re interested in their gear, I provided some info and photos in my review of their last album, Sweating the Plague. Listen to “Volcano” below and purchase the album here:
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