Guided By Voices have always had a mad scientist appeal because they have no rhyme or reason for what they do. Robert Pollard and crew (excuse me if I don’t get into the “classic” lineup debate) are prolific to a point that even Lou Barlow would be jealous. The songs on their latest album, Motivational Jumpsuit (the first of two album due this year), are guitar fueled pop gems averaging around two-minutes. Nothing here sounds as if it was labored over in the studio, giving Motivational Jumpsuit both a really spectacular live sound, and the subtext of being slightly unhinged.
Power pop is the first item up for bid on Motivational Jumpsuit. “Littlest League Possible” is a crazy catchy, high-octane ditty that ends right as you’re hooked. While keeping with the power pop theme, “Littlest League Possible” also has a scratchy, dirty sound, which comes off like a demo. It’s an interesting mix. Eighty seconds later, Motivational Jumpsuit is into “Until The Next Time”, a sweet acoustic ballad that would be right at home over the end credits of any Wes Anderson film. At the pinnacle of the sweet acoustic bliss, Pollard and crew add a little electric guitar jam to the end of “Until The Next Time”. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It’s the manic oddity of GBV at full tilt.
With twenty tracks, the longest being “Shine”, which clocks in at three minutes and three seconds, Motivational Jumpsuit is a lot to drink in. I won’t lie; this record clicks only after several listens. Not because it’s incredibly deep, but because so much happens so fast. There’s also the added bonus of the band sliding between styles. “Child Activist” is a drum-focused track. The guitars are secondary, and played with such a heavy hand that the rhythms are as heavy as the percussion. On the other hand, “Jupiter Spin” is a sixties garage rock track that would make the Zombies or Psychotic Reaction weep.
As fun as the bombastic elements are, I find the acoustic work on Motivational Jumpsuit the real showstoppers. “Go Without Packing”, “A Bird With No Name”, “Shine” and “Until The Next Time” capture Pollard and crew in their most honest state. Second to the acoustic numbers the sixties pop shines brightest. “Child Activist”, “Difficult Outburst And Breakthrough”, “Jupiter Spin”, “Calling Up Washington”, “Some Things Are Big (And Some Things Are Small) are real delights of swing beats and guitars that are drunk on both catchy and hooky.
Motivational Jumpsuit might feel like a foot race for people with no sense of direction, but GBV aren’t that callous. There are themes happening in the songs, connections to either genre or style, which are made only if you listen to the entire album. The songs don’t flow perfectly into each other, but at some point they all do come to a confluence. For the GBV faithful, this might not be the ode to perfection that Bee Thousand was, but it will surely entertain them.
The only negatives come from GBV’s own desire to create a bunch of tiny explosions and few slow burns. To the casual listener, Motivational Jumpsuit might come across overbearing, or it might fly past them without registering at all. As good as the album is, it lacks something universal to bring in those folks not already committed to the GBV way of life. I doubt GBV are concerned with such things, but it does impact the overall success of the record.
