Guided By Voices - Half Smiles of the Decomposed

I'm extremely late getting this review into Silent Uproar, but in some ways I should have foreseen it. Because I'm lazy? Only partially. For some reason, I'm always late when it comes to Guided By Voices, so I think of it more a symbol of my relationship with this band. Through late high school and my college years, and even after hearing their name frequently brought up, I always skipped over them. With the release of their previous effort, 2003's excellent Earthquake Glue, I finally caught on and dove into their back catalog, which as any fan knows is incredible. Then one of the best live bands ever decides to call it quits and does a final tour, of which I found out about a New York City date too late. In that respect, I suppose it's fitting to hand this in extremely late. Being a recent fan of Guided By Voices, I've taken in their full catalog at once, so I'm able to pick out obvious differences from previous efforts and the band's swan song, Half Smiles Of The Decomposed. First off, this is a pretty "slick" record, in terms of GBV releases. The songs aren't as compact and short as others in their repertoire, similar to the songs on Earthquake Glue. In other words, you're not going to have a low-fi explosion like "Shocker In Gloomtown" attacking your ears. You're getting sprawling epics (well, as epic as GBV will get), like the majestic "Window Of My World" or "Sons Of Apollo." There are unexpected pieces like "Sleep Over Jack," which feature Bob Pollard's entracing vocals over a rollicking bassline and steady drum beat. There are still short playful numbers, like "Asia Minor." The whole album, though, lacks a consistency of mood or feeling. This disc is pretty darn good, even if it doesn't measure up to previous GBV efforts. But let's be honest; nothing will ever top Bee Thousand. As a final album, the band sounds great but unfortunately full of resignation. If you're a GBV fan expecting a big finish, you're better off waiting for forthcoming Bob Pollard's solo releases. But still, this is a good addition to their extensive catalog, if just a bit more of a challenging record than the last. After almost 20 years of recording, it's a good, but not stellar, finish. [www.guidedbyvoices.com]