The Release: Universe Room (LP—GBVi, 2025) / Goodnight El Dorado (Live LP—GBVi, 2025)
Well, here we are: the penultimate entry in The GBV Project. Yes, we’ve reached the current year, which means that there are only three albums left to cover. Okay, there are two plus a live album; and this week, I’m rolling the live one (Goodnight El Dorado) into this piece on the first GBV studio LP of 2025, Universe Room.
To cut right to the chase, I’m not the biggest fan of either of these records. Universe Room is among the least notable of the latter day Guided by Voices albums. Fortunately—as we’ve long since established—even the worst GBV records are still decent, and house a few songs worth filing away for mixtapes and playlists. Universe Room is no exception to this rule, even if it does feel like a bit of a lull between a pair of studio LPs that are much better.
And I’ll be honest, the live record is a bit of a head scratcher. Its release this past summer seems somewhat designed to coincide with the (relatively) quiet announcement that Guided by Voices are no longer a touring band. But even if it was also designed as a way to commemorate one of GBV’s final tours, the decision to focus on the proggier songs from recent albums makes Goodnight El Dorado feel like less of a celebration of the band’s live years, and more of a curio for the hardcores.
And that’s really all that I feel compelled to say about this week’s pair of releases. Instead, I’m using this piece to take stock of the ‘current-day lineup’ era on the whole. In total, the Robert Pollard/Doug Gillard/Bobby Bare Jr./Mark Shue/Kevin March roster has produced a staggering nineteen albums (two of them double LPs) since forming to support 2016’s Pollard-only Please Be Honest. And while I’ve been comparatively down on more than a few of these records—anybody tracking my ratings would find that the current era easily has the lowest average score of any GBV phase—those nineteen albums have produced their share of excellent songs.
So I’m doing the predictable (for me) thing, and collecting some of the highlights from GBV’s current incarnation into a ‘best-of’ playlist, modeled after the pair that I’ve already made, which themselves were modeled after 2003’s Human Amusements at Hourly Rates. My self-imposed rules are largely the same as they were on those earlier features, except that I’ve chosen to maintain the thirty-two song template, rather than making sure that it would all fit on a single CD; for the record, it runs a few minutes too long for that.
And while these aren’t necessarily the thirty-two best GBV songs of the past decade, they coalesce into what I believe makes for a pretty nice glimpse into an era that even I have taken for granted. I made sure to include at least one track from each album, and opted to include Please Be Honest, seeing as how it wasn’t included within the purview of my previous playlists. To my pleasant surprise, there ended up being quite a few difficult cuts along the way. Here’s what I came up with:
1. “Space Gun” from Space Gun (2018)
The title track to the record often cited as the best from the current lineup, “Space Gun” is a classic GBV anthem, complete with single-note guitar riffs, pounding drums, and several top-notch melodic hooks from a rejuvenated Bob Pollard.
2. “(You Can’t Go Back To) Oxford Talawanda” from Thick Rich and Delicious (2025)
Speaking of hooks, there may be no catchier chorus in this playlist than the one that appears on the first single to GBV’s latest record, Thick Rich and Delicious. A fantastic ambassador for a genuinely excellent album, “Oxford Talawanda” can hang with the best songs from any era of Guided by Voices.
3. “Bunco Men” from Mirrored Aztec (2020)
While a plenty-solid take of this track surfaced on the original Suitcase collection in 2000, the twenty-years-later version of “Bunco Men” feels fully-formed in comparison. The current lineup provides a heft that the song, in retrospect, seems to demand.
4. “Overloaded” from August by Cake (2017)
Perhaps to signal that the new GBV lineup was a truly collaborative entity, Bob Pollard granted each of his bandmates their own feature tracks on August by Cake. Of these, it’s Kevin March’s “Overloaded” that leaves the strongest impression. In fact, it arguably bests any of Pollard’s songs on the double LP.
5. “The Race is On, the King Is Dead” from Nowhere to Go But Up (2023)
Complete with bell chimes, the triumphant lead track from 2023’s Nowhere to Go But Up kicked the album off on its highest note—perhaps making the record’s title something of a misnomer. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some good stuff that follows “The Race is On,” but the grand scope of this opener leaves everything else standing in its shadow.
6. “Volcano” from Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020)
One of the most deliberately-paced tracks in the GBV catalog, “Volcano” only evokes its namesake in the song’s explosive chorus. It’s a slow-burning beauty from one of the current lineup’s strongest albums.
7. “Cohesive Scoops” from Warp and Woof (2019)
2019’s Warp and Woof gathered its brief tracks from a series of four preceding EPs, and of its twenty-four compact pieces, “Cohesive Scoops” is arguably the brightest gem in the batch. It almost feels like classic GBV. Almost.
8. “My Zodiac Companion” from Please Be Honest (2016)
Bob Pollard re-inaugurated Guided by Voices with what was for all intents and purposes a solo album. However, the band that Pollard assembled to bring those songs to life on the stage would become the most stable GBV lineup of all-time. And having seen that band perform this song on their first tour together, they more than proved their worthiness.
9. “Fictional Environmental Dream” from Strut of Kings (2024)
One of the true standouts from the current era, “Fictional Environmental Dream” is a classic Pollard melody, wrapped in a classic GBV title. It’s also the most that Guided by Voices have sounded like R.E.M. in decades—and I have zero problem with that.
10. “Alex Bell” from Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022)
During the present incarnation of GBV, Bob Pollard has made no attempt to hide his affinity for prog rock. However, one could argue that Pollard’s best dalliances with the genre have resulted when he sticks to the pop hooks that have always been his stock in trade. This multi-part opener to 2022’s Tremblers and Goggles by Rank finds him hitting a perfect equilibrium point between those impulses—standing as his own version of “A Quick One (While He’s Away).”
11. “Nothing Gets You Real” from How Do You Spell Heaven (2017)
A thoroughly ‘pretty’ highlight from How Do You Spell Heaven, “Nothing Gets You Real” serves to display the range and nuance of GBV’s current-day lineup…
12. “Ballroom Etiquette” from La La Land (2023)
…As does this standout from La La Land. There’s a subtlety to this kind of track—one that the shorthand narrative of Robert Pollard and Guided by Voices seems to overlook—and I’m not suggesting that everyone spend a year with the band to discover that level of nuance; but I’m not not suggesting it either.
13. “Mr. Child” from Styles We Paid For (2020)
And of course, the present-day GBV can still swagger with the best of them—even the short-lived ‘Guided by Verde’ lineup. Of course, Doug Gillard provides a through line between those incarnations, and tracks like “Mr. Child” remind us of what he brings to the table.
14. “Lucy’s World” from Thick Rich and Delicious (2025)
Our first repeated album is GBV’s latest. Of course, I’ll get to it in next week’s final installment of the project, but there’s a reason why Thick Rich and Delicious gets the honor; and this second single is one of its finest tracks.
15. “To Keep an Area” from Mirrored Aztec (2020)
There’s a lushness to this Mirrored Aztec highlight (acoustic 12-string guitars, Mellotron) that hints back to previous GBV classics like “Girls of Wild Strawberries” and “Unspirited,” but “To Keep an Area” is good enough to become its own comparison point.
16. “5 Degrees on the Inside” from August by Cake (2017)
The first half of our program ends with the swaggering opener to the first album from the present-day lineup (we need to agree on a better name for this incarnation). There’s a pomp and circumstance to this track—aided by Pollard’s spoken intro—that appropriately suggests the dawning of a new era for the band.
17. “See My Field” from Space Gun (2018)
Another excellent single from Space Gun, “See My Field” rides a driving tempo, a rich arrangement (is that a Mellotron again?), and Bob Pollard’s “ha ha ha” hook to great effect.
18. “The Great Man” from Universe Room (2025)
In case you’re wondering, I do put real effort into sequencing these things. And I really like the transition from “See My Field” into the standout track from this week’s featured album. The strings help to build a surprising amount of tension for a GBV track.
19. “The Rally Boys” from Zeppelin Over China (2019)
For whatever reason—perhaps the fact that it’s their longest record—I’ve always found Zeppelin Over China to be among the most impenetrable Guided by Voices albums. However, “The Rally Boys” has always stood out among the rest.
20. “Heavy Like the World” from Sweating the Plague (2019)
The proggy Sweating the Plague is actually one of the more rewarding latter-day GBV records, but I’ve decided to represent it with its catchiest track. “Heavy Like the World” was an obvious choice for the album’s single, and it was a similarly easy pick here.
21. “Always Gone” from Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020)
Though I highly doubt that it was recorded on a Portastudio, “Always Gone” harkens back to the lo-fi sounds of GBV’s golden age. However, it’s not just in fidelity, but in the fact that this 97-second song boasts a killer hook as well.
22. “Our Man Syracuse” from Thick Rich and Delicious (2025)
Wait, a third track from Thick Rich and Delicious? Spoiler alert: I really like the new Guided by Voices album, but more on that soon enough. “Our Man Syracuse” has another great hook, and some stellar harmonies from Bobby Bare Jr.
23. “My Angel” from Warp and Woof (2019)
There were several other songs that I considered as the second (and final) representative from Warp and Woof. “My Angel” is arguably the strongest earworm of the bunch, and thus, it gets the call over the other contenders.
24. “Serene King ” from Strut of Kings (2024)
If not for the outstanding “Fictional Environmental Dream,” “Serene King” would have been a perfectly noble blue ribbon winner from last year’s Strut of Kings. It houses the perfect balance between melody and rhythmic swagger that defines the best GBV songs.
25. “The Birthday Democrats” from How Do You Spell Heaven (2017)
The opening track to How Do You Spell Heaven announces itself with a simple-but-effective guitar riff, and proceeds to reveal hook after hook—as well as Bob Pollard’s characteristically inscrutable lyricism—over the course of its two minute run-time.
26. “Crystal Nuns Cathedral” from Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022)
Both the album and song of this title tended to be overlooked amidst the absolute deluge of new GBV material in the post-quarantine era. I’m leaving it here as a reminder that I need to go back and revisit Crystal Nuns Cathedral every so often.
27. “Why Won’t You Kiss Me” from Welshpool Frillies (2023)
The bouncy riff and rhythm of this Welshpool Frillies standout are enough of a hook on their own, but the more straightforward section of the song—not exactly a chorus in the traditional sense—provides a hugely effective contrast.
28. “My Future in Barcelona” from Zeppelin Over China (2019)
The penultimate track to Zeppelin Over China rewards those who stuck through the album’s imposing track listing. It’s a characteristically strong ensemble performance with yet another excellent refrain from Bob Pollard.
29. “I Love Kangaroos” from Space Gun (2018)
One of the most playful tracks in the GBV discography (both musically and lyrically), “I Love Kangaroos” could almost pass for Pollard’s attempt at a children’s song: at least if not for some cryptically dark imagery.
30. “Free Agents” from Earth Man Blues (2021)
Fashioned as a concept album, 2021’s Earth Man Blues is meant to be taken in as a whole. However, the Who-meets-Strokes vibe of “Free Agents” is fully capable of standing on its own merits.
31. “A Tribute to Beatle Bob” from Thick Rich and Delicious (2025)
Recency bias, perhaps? No, there are just a whole lot of great songs on GBV’s latest record. In fact, even though I included four of them, there were at least a few others that were worthy of consideration. This tribute to a St. Louis scenester—featured in the video for “My Kind of Soldier”—has certainly established itself as a fan favorite.
32. “My (Limited Engagement)” from It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them! (2021)
Say what you will about the albums as a whole, but the current lineup has typically ended their records on a strong note. And perhaps the strongest of these is the closing track to 2021’s It’s Not Them. It’s another great Pollard hook that fades away abruptly, but with the promise that—at least with GBV—there’s always more just around the corner.
Rating: Universe Room (6.6) / Goodnight El Dorado (6.5)
*Singles are star-rated by their A-side; albums and EPs use the “Russman Reviews” scale.
Bob-ism of the Week: “Who dreams of a lion? / Perhaps he’ll only know when he’s gazing out a stained glass window / Trailing snake vapors away in a trick of the sunlight” (“Aesop Dreamed of Lions”)
Next Week: We end this thing with one of the best Guided by Voices albums in a long ass time. No, really…
