---Ada Wofford
---Released 1 November 2019 on GBV Inc.
How the hell do you review a Guided by Voices album? It’s almost as if everything they have released since the 90s has been one giant victory lap. They haven’t changed really but who would want them to? My biggest hang up with the newer stuff is the production but I can hardly fault them for wanting to get out of their basement. Sweating the Plague is a solid album and outshines their two prior 2019 releases if only for sheer playability. While Warp and Woof and Zeppelin Over China are both massive double albums, Sweating the Plague was intentionally constructed to function as a tight rock album, consisting of a reasonable 12 tracks. Even my favorite GBV albums fail to embrace this more easily consumable format so, it was an interesting choice for the prolific band.
The album’s single, “Heavy Like the World” is by far the standout track. It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite GBV tracks, “Things That I Will Keep” but not enough to come off as derivative or borrowed. It has a deep groove that the drums carry beneath sneering guitars and Robert Pollard’s trademark, always-cool vocals. It’s one of those tracks that I’m sure will blow me away when I see them in Philadelphia this December. That’s GBV’s real strength, the live show—and the tracks that resonate best on their albums, are the ones that resonate best live. Honestly, I’m sure GBV could blow me away with any of the tracks on this album in a live setting but we’re all well aware that some songs are created “more equal” than others. Some songs just go a little further, hit a little harder, reach a little deeper—and “Heavy Like the World” is one of those tracks.
As for the rest of the album, it’s great. It’s just solid GBV. No one is going to say it’s as good as one of their classics, but no one ever does. The Pixies went through the same issue this year with their amazing album, Beneath the Eyrie. The album’s great but it’s never going to replace Surfer Rosa or Doolittle because those are the albums that have been solidified as the definitive Pixies albums; just as Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, among a few others, are the definitive GBV albums. Pixies and GBV will never dethrone their classics but the issue doesn’t lie with their inability to write great music, it lies with our inability as fans to let go of our nostalgia.
Beyond that I’m a bit lost for words. The album almost serves as a primer for what GBV are all about. The opening track, "Downer" shows a bit of their psychedelic weird side while, "My Wrestling Days Are Over" shows their soft, 60s, lo-fi folk side before exploding in cloud of drums and guitars. As I said above, the album's just solid. It’s fun. Put it on in your car and drive fast. Marvel at Robert Pollard’s insane output. I don’t know, just listen to it and have fun. That’s what rock music’s all about.
If you’re interested in their gear, there is a terrific Rig Rundown from Premier Guitar (2018) that you can check out for yourself, all the info that follows comes from that video.
Doug Gillard uses a ’76 Gibson Les Paul and a G & L telecaster through a Mesa Dual Rectifier head into a Marshall 4 X 12. Here’s a shot of his pedal board. Not pictured is an EHX Holy Grail at the end of his chain and his channel switcher for the amp.
Bobby Bare Jr. plays a ‘64 SG Jr., a ’73 SG Custom, and a “fake Chinese Telecaster” with a gold foil pick up. He uses a Trans-Atlantic head and a Marshall cab. Here’s his pedal “board.” He primarily uses the Eventide as a tuner!
Bassist, Marc Shue plays a Fender P bass American Special through an Ampeg SVT. Here is his pedal board. The far left is a Boss tuner and next to that is a Boss Bass Over Drive.
Listen to “Heavy Like the World” below.
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