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Half Smiles Of The Decomposed

by

Guided By Voices

 
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Half Smiles Of The Decomposed

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Avg: 3.5 (145 ratings)

Guided by Voices say goodbye for good — and somehow manage to go out on top.

  • We Say...

    Review by Greg Milner

    “Every day is another world,” Pollard sings on “Everybody Thinks I’m a Raincloud,” a reminder that all things must pass. This is where GbV said goodbye for good, and somehow managed to go out on top. They actually sound hungrier than ever. The album is far removed from Bee Thousand’s pop dreams but retains its air of constantly evolving mystery. “Asia Minor” strikes an appealing note of melancholy, while “Girls of Wild Strawberries” is yet another song from the Pollard canon that could’ve/should’ve been a radio staple. Pollard’s lyrics are just as cryptic as ever, but they’d evolved into a sort of poetic lyricism, and his voice had matured to where it could communicate subtleties not possible in the “Tractor Rape Chain” era. “21 is the legal age to kill yourself slowly, but 18 is the legal age to die,” sings this 40-something former schoolteacher on the unusually topical “Sing for Your Meat,” before asking the million-dollar question: “Are we marching on?”

  • They Say...

    Review by Mark Deming, All Music Guide

    Ever since they first burst into the consciousness of indie rock fans across our great nation in 1994 with Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices seemed like one of those bands that was always going to be there for us, letting loose with a steady stream of albums, singles, EPs, live shows, and side projects that even devoted fans had trouble keeping up with. But in April of 2004, GBV commandant Robert Pollard announced that the band would be calling it quits at the end of that year, and that Half Smiles of the Decomposed would be their last album. Given its status as GBV's sort-of-official recorded farewell, Half Smiles of the Decomposed carries significantly more psychic weight than previous albums from the group, so it's a bit surprising that the results hardly equal a "typical" Guided by Voices CD. Comprised of a mere 14 songs in 42 minutes, half of which are over three minutes in length, Half Smiles of the Decomposed is a final departure from GBV's tradition of compact pop masterpieces, and while the production (by occasional keyboard player Todd Tobias) doesn't approach the slickness of Do the Collapse or Isolation Drills, this may be the polished and attentive "indie" album Pollard and GBV have ever made. And the songs appear to be reaching for an epic quality that goes beyond their length; Pollard's way with a melody is very much in evidence, but rather than going for simple blissful hookiness, this set approximates a homegrown version of the big-screen sweep of, say, The Who on Who's Next or Mott the Hoople on Mott. But even though Half Smiles of the Decomposed sounds great, the band plays with impressive skill, and it represents one of Pollard's most successful attempts to balance his lo-fi musical impulses against the demands of proper record production, it lacks the ineffable fire and energy that has always set their best work apart. In short, Half Smiles takes Guided by Voices to the edge of their musical possibilities, but instead of leading them to a final glorious victory, it just seems to stop at the end of the road. But then again, maybe this is really just where Robert Pollard picks up a ride to his next destination.

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