Pitchfork

Robert Pollard remains the next best thing to a 90s incarnation of the Beatles in existence. And enlisting help from fellow indie rockers Cobra Verde, Guided by Voices walk away with still another terrific rock record under their belt.

On songs like "I Am a Tree", "Bulldog Skin", and "Portable Men's Society", Pollard pairs the production skills we never knew he had with the terrific songwriting we've come to expect. Do I miss the low fidelity? Yeah, now that you mention it. But there's even some crackly stuff, too-- "Are You Faster?", "Choking Tara", and "Hollow Cheek" sound straight off the four-track that captured Bee Thousand in all its effin' glory.

Yeah, it's a little more balls-outward than some of the other stuff, but I'm not gonna shoot myself over it. Especially not when tracks like "Little Lines", the beautiful spacy acoustics of "Learning to Hunt", and the simple genius of "I Am Produced" come through with that full-on Pollard magick that makes me wanna cast me some wizard spellz. Friends, I'll be straight: these line-up changes, they don't bug me. Pollard continues to write and record songs that amaze.