Robert Pollard is getting ready to head out on an international tour. After months of rumors and anticipation amongst the die-hards, Guided By Voices are releasing their new album Universal Truths And Cycles on June 16th.

UTAC is a departure from GBV's last two albums... and it isn't. Because the band produced it themselves with the help of Todd Tobias you'd think it would be crunchy and full of happy lo-fi mistakes. It's not. It's crisp and clean - the artifacts of four-track recording are now made with seeming diligence and dressed up in their Sunday best. The music no longer sounds like it's coming from under your couch, but from right under your nose. This album has some of the most beautiful songs Bob's written in years. And the radio-friendly pieces don't insult one's intelligence like I felt "Chasing Heather Crazy" and "Teenage FBI" had.

And as always, there's 4 or 5 tracks that make you wonder why someone in the band hadn't vetoed it before it made into rehearsals. If you've got a history with GBV records, than you know that those are the songs that end up in the soundtrack to your dreams at night.

For a band who's family tree looks like 6 family trees taped top to bottom, this line-up's stuck it out for longer than anyone expected. Lead guitarist Doug Gillard's been with GBV since their 1997 album Mag Earwhig! when Bob was backed up by the Ohio band Cobra Verde. Rhythm guitarist Nate Farley's played with the band on and off until 1999's Do The Collapse when he was signed on full time. Tim Tobias showed up as the regular bassist shortly around the same time. The drummer for the UTAC was Jon McCann, but those shoes have been filled again, by Kevin March. For someone whose job it is to learn literally hundreds of songs, he seems to be holding his own. And finally, there's the "unofficial 6th member" of the band, Todd Tobias.

On UTAC the band sounds like they feel at home. And they get away with things they couldn't have in a thousand-dollar-an-hour studio in NY, so far from the basements of Ohio. They did UTAC the old fashioned way, using the collective experiences of the 5 members, some true-blue friends - with a few tricks they learned from the "big boys" thrown in. After wrapping up, they took the songs to the shows and waited for a label to bite. And one did. The one that got away.

Mike: There was a lot of hubbub about who was going to put the album out. Did you guys have a hard time finding a label or did you know that Matador was interested in having you back?

B: They really didn't come into play until right at the end, right when we were kinda getting ready to make a decision. We'd been talking to a lot of independent labels like, Vagrant and Sub Pop. But, I'm glad to be on Matador. I feel like we're part of the family. And I'm not sure we should of even left. I don't have any regrets. TVT was fine. But, Matador's a bit more artist-friendly.

M: And you've credited Todd (Tobias) as the producer?

B: Yeah, Todd and GBV. Both. We kinda did it together. We all came up with ideas, but he kind of served as he main engineer. He got the sounds that we use for the atmosphere of the record. So, you know who he is, huh?

M: Sure, I've heard the Circus Devils Album.

B: (Laughs) We're working on another Circus Devils Album. It's gonna be a little prettier, but dark. I going to be dark. Its not going to be as bombastic as the last one, not as chaotic.

M: You've said that Universal Truths and Cycles sounds like a hybrid of the Alien Lanes/Bee Thousand era stuff and the later albums. What did you mean by that?

B: Well, first of all, we went back to making records the way we used to. We'd get the basic sounds of a song, do all the dubs, mix it, put it aside and that would be it. Then we'd go to the next song to create a kind of diversity in the record that I thought was missing in the last couple.

We probably spent 2 weeks on this record. We actually did it ourselves. We took some time to record. We took almost as much time as we did when we worked with a producer. But, I don't like messing around too much. I'm fairly impatient. Even as a song writer, if I'm working on a song and it's taking too long, I'll shoot the canon immediately. Its got to come quickly.

M: Who did the art for the new album?

B: On the cover, I think, on the credits its going to say "the Ohe brothers". On the Matador records, that the covers would always say "by the Ohe Brothers". That would be Mark Ohe from the art department there, and then Bob Ohe. I'm Bob Ohe. The cover looks really cool. People like get the record in advance, but its just not fair until you get the whole package that has the lyrics and everything, to get the whole picture. It's a really interesting cover. Someone pointed out that it kinda looks like the movie poster for Caligula. (laugh).

M: Yeah, I read that too (Pitchforkmedia.com), but I didn't see the connection, exactly.

B: Oh, you've seen a picture of it. They've sent out a picture of the front cover haven't they?

M: Sure, it's on the web site (gbv.com).

B: Well, that doesn't even give you a sense of what the package is like. It's really cool, it's got a nice texture and shit. Have you ever seen the album by Jethro Tull Living in the Past? It's kinda, like, it's really difficult to explain the texture of it. I obviously can't explain it, can I?

(laughs) M: A few songs on this new album have some pretty grandiose string accompaniments, and some other tricky moves. Who's responsible for writing the strings?

B: Well, its my idea which songs to put strings in. I kinda got used to it from the last couple albums because we actually had enough money in our budget. We would have three or four songs with strings on each record. But, we didn't have enough money on this budget. Then a friend of mine, the guy who runs our web site, Rich Turiel, has some friends in New York that are in a string quartet called Invert that they would come to Dayton and do some songs for free. Actually, I kinda think they did a better job than the strings that we paid a lot of money for (laugh).

They did another song too, that we didn't use for the record called 'Dig Through my Window'. It'll be a B-side on one of the 45's that we're putting out. We'll do another EP in the fall with all the B-sides. We've got six songs from the album left over and then four songs from the last record that we didn't use.

The demos we did when we were working with a producer were better in sound quality than most of our mid-period records. But, we had to do demos in a big studio, which I couldn't stand. To do demos in a big studio, is to me, redundant. It's hard if you do a really good version of something, you'll want to keep that version, you know? You really don't want to attempt it again. So, that's another good reason to be back at Matador. We don't have to do demos. They trust us.

M: When all is said and done, how do you decide what ends up on an album and what doesn't?

B: Well, I've gotten pretty good at editing myself quickly. Around Bee Thousand, and before and that, I would just write lots of songs and record them all, because we could do it very quickly on a four-track. But, once you record a song, it takes on a different personality. It takes on a different tone and can end up being a good song when you thought is wasn't, really.

Now I've gotten to the point where I know what I like. I want to keep challenging myself as a song writer, writing songs that I don't think I've written before. I'll write a lot of ideas, skeletons of songs, and then go back, pick the ones that I do like and quickly elaborate on them. Another thing that steers the songs in the direction that they go, is the fact that I write the lyrics first now. The lyrics dictate where the song will go when I'm writing it , the melody, the chord changes and so forth.

M: You've been writing songs that call for you to push your voice a little higher. "Cheyenne", "Never Forget Where you Get Them", "Glad Girls"...?

B: Yeah, I don't know why I'm doing that. Most people as they get older, change their style to suit their age. So a lot of people, like David Bowie, became crooners so they wouldn't have to continue to push the limits. As I get older I make songs that are harder for me to sing. I guess it's kind of masochistic on my part.

M: And your lyrics have some complicated combinations of images and objects.

B: They're like dreams sequences. To me, they're blurred images of the things that I observe. And with Isolation Drills it was things that were going on inside me. I was going through some changes in my life. With this new album, it's what I've seen from looking at other people. I look at something or think about something and I try to get out in as many words to describe it as I can.

And I really, for the most part, don't know exactly what it means. But that's okay, I think the best lyrics are done like that. The main thing too, is that the words sound good together. That they're colorful, that they're descriptive. When you use interesting words it makes it easier to sing, actually. I also find that when we play live, it's hard to remember the lyrics if I haven't had enough to drink. It's pretty weird.

M: On the new album, "Storm Vibrations" and "Pretty Bombs" really stand out.

B: You love the prog rock songs, don't ya?

M: I guess I do. I'm busted. And "It Is Divine" from the Go Back Snowball (with Mac McCaughan) project is amazing.

B: Well, thanks.

M: How do those kind of songs fit into your making an album?

B: I try to mix it up. I've been saying this at our shows, It's my Professor Rock/Uncle Bob thing. I say:

"Kids, what are the 4 P's"?

"Punk, Pop, Psyche and Prog".

I try to mix them, so the record has enough of each of those genres. I like an album that's diverse. The best records are the ones that last longer by holding your attention. It seems like people don't do that much, anymore. They used to, in the 60's. In the late 60's, especially.

I haven't done a vaudeville song yet, on one of my records.

M: A vaudeville song ?

B: (Laughs) No, I haven't done that yet. No Bluegrass.

M: Do you break your albums into A and B sides?

B: Yeah I break in into sides. Definitely think in terms of sides.

M: What is the first song of side B of Universal Truths and Cycles?

B: "Everywhere with Helicopter". I've always liked to start off side 2 with a song that sounds like a single. I don't why. But, that's the one, man. (laughs) That's the one we'll be doing until I'm completely sick of it. I don't want to play it on the Craig Kilborne show, though (June 15th). I have to figure out how to sing it because of the alternating lines. I was thinking about having Doug sing with me - I don't know...

M: Which songs from the new album do you guys enjoy playing the most, right now?

B: We've been playing them all, for a couple months. But I like "Back To The Lake". It's my favorite song on the record. "Storm Vibrations" and "Eureka Signs" also sound really good live. And "Pretty Bombs" even without the string quartet. "Wings Of Thorn"... "Christian Animation Torch Carriers" is actually the best one to play off the new album.

M: There was a rumor that, The Strokes were covering "Back To The Lake" at their shows.

B: Yeah, someone told me that they did "Back To The Lake". But, then someone else told me that it was played before their shows as the entrance song...so I'm not sure. I'm supposed to do with Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitarist for The Strokes) for NME or something, so I'll get the real story from him. I wish they'd put it on their next album. I could use some mechanical royalties (laughs). Because they are selling some serious records, man.

M: You guys are getting ready to go to Europe soon?

B: Late August or September. We're going there mainly to do the festivals. But, we're probably going to hit all the big cities, too. We only went to Europe for the festivals last year because we didn't have a record deal over there.

Its good to go over there once in a while. And we've made some friends over there, we'll see people we haven't seen in a while. Drink the beer. Buy the chocolate.

M: So, what are you working on right now?

B: I'm working on some stuff for the next GBV record, whatever that will be. Usually, after I'm finished with a GBV project, I start working on a solo record. But, now we've got at least a verbal agreement with Matador that we can put out a GBV album every year. I've got acoustic demos of about 14 songs that I'm going to play with the band when we're on tour.

M: The last time you were in Seattle, I remember, you said that you wanted to work with Peter Buck.

B: If he wants to. I don't know what his contractual obligations are and so forth, but, I've been doing this collaborative thing, like I did a couple albums with Toby (Sprout - AIRPORT 5) and with Mac. I just like to do it. There are a few other people that I wouldn't mind working with. I think he could get together some pretty interesting music that I could do something with.

M: Who else would you - ?

B: Another person I want to work with is J. Mascis, I think his music's cool, too. When you do something like that, you pretty much want to work with somebody that's not only a good songwriter, but a good guitar player. You don't want to do a collaborative album with a drummer.

M: You could, but you wouldn't get very far.

B: (Laughs). It might be interesting though, you know, they could send me really cool beats they recorded in the studio and I could build the music. That's a good idea.

But, it's good when it's someone who can play everything. That's kinda the way J. Mascis is. As a matter of fact, all the people I work with can do that, Mac... I'm surprised at what Mac can do. Toby obviously, I know what Toby can do after all these years.

M: Looking back at the Mac McCaughan's albums, it seems like he was really into making some pieces that were compatible with your way of working, but staying true to his own work.

B: I think that it's interesting, too, because it definitely sounds like a combination of both what I do and what he does with Portastatic, mainly. And it was accidental that Go Back Snowball is also GBS, which I told him is Guided by Superchunk. (laugh).

M: Before I let you go, I just have to ask: what's this about a song in the next Steven Soderbergh movie?

B: That's happening. It's coming out in August. A friend of mine in Chicago said he saw the film and it didn't have any music or songs until the credits. And then "Do Something Real" bangs in. Now we're going to have to put it back in the set, because of that. They'll start yelling for that song at shows, so we have to put it in.

M: I remember reading that Soderbergh was listening to GBV a lot - that you guys were his favorite band.

B: Yeah, that's weird. It's interesting when I find out about certain people that like GBV. It can be unexpected.

GUIDED BY VOICES played June 23rd, 2002 at the Showbox, Seattle

© Mike Minney, 2002 » notabomb.com