Last week Guided By Voices, the Dayton, Ohio-based rock band released Isolation Drills. Their feel-good melodies and fun lyrics make the album ideal for warm weather enjoyment.
This album is solid; it offers up a healthy serving of pop and rock without compromising. Sometimes the songs are on the serious side, as with “Run Wild.” With its forceful guitar bridge, this song drives home the idea of rebelling against the Machine and following your heart.
Other songs are unapologetically almost nonsensical–music for music’s sake. “Frostman” and “How’s My Drinking?” are both short ditties that don’t require a lot of digestion but are musically sound. “How’s My Drinking?” is a slow drunken-sounding dirge laced with rich guitar work and muddy delivery–ideal for the subject matter.
The more up-tempo songs like “The Brides Have Hit Glass,” “Chasing Heather Crazy,” and “Fair Touching” reveal the diversity of which Guided By Voices is capable. “Chasing Heather Crazy” is a light song. The group sounds like Top 40 material in this number with their contagious riffs and simple lyrics.
Finally, “Fine to See You” is another great song. The hypnotic encircling guitars and the heavy vocal delivery fit perfectly with the lyrics: “It was sure fine to see you. Delicious and thank you for coming. I am hypnotizing the highway. I am baptizing mad rivers. And the rivers run wild. And the highway is long. It was so good to see you. You know that for I tell you.”
Isolation Drills is a fine addition to any music collection. The variations in songs provide a complete album ideal for capitalizing on springtime in the valley.
