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Guided by Voices

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band, founded in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. The only constant through all the line-ups is the singer and writer Robert Pollard. The best-known line-up consisted of Pollard, his brother Jim, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout and Kevin Fennell. The group began as a pub band and increasingly became a studio project. The first records were self-financed and released independently.

Music and breakthrough

Their first recognition outside the city came in 1992 with Propeller, of which only five hundred copies were pressed, each with its own hand-made sleeve. Bee Thousand followed in 1994 and is regarded as a milestone of indie rock. It was released through Scat Records, with distribution by Matador Records. In 1995 came Alien Lanes, largely assembled from fragments recorded at home, for the most part on a four-track recorder. Later the group signed with larger labels, and albums such as Isolation Drills made the Billboard top two hundred. In 2004 Pollard disbanded the band, in 2010 the classic line-up returned, and since 2016 the group has been going again.

Influence

The influences lie in early British beat music, garage rock, psychedelia, prog rock, punk and post-punk. The band has released forty-three albums and gained a loyal following. Guided by Voices is regarded as a key name in lo-fi music, in which short, sloppily recorded songs are precisely the strength.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Bee Thousand and notice the rough recording with hiss and short, almost sketch-like songs. Hear how a beautiful melody survives despite the poor sound.

Discography

Studio albums

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: Artists