RIFF ALBUM CHALLENGE
Guided by Voices — ‘Alien Lanes’
The band’s 1995 Matador Records debut is a lo-fi masterpiece
We heard Guided by Voices were playing at the Troubadour that night, but Hollywood was too far away to risk showing up at a sold-out show. So, we called the box office, scoring the last three tickets on a friend’s “only use in case of emergency” credit card. This was, after all, a rock ‘n’ roll emergency.
It was the first LA stop for the legendary lo-fi band’s Alien Lanes tour. My roommates and I already had two of the band’s previous albums, Vampire on Titus and Bee Thousand, in pretty heavy rotation. So, Alien Lanes immediately jumped the line when it arrived a week or two before the show.
The scrappy Dayton, Ohio outfit took the stage that night looking for all the world like a bar band, blasting through a 40-song set of fan-favorites. Robert Pollard—the lanky, whirling, high-kicking frontman—was never more than a few steps from his beloved beer cooler. He twirled his microphone with a mischievous smirk, egging on the enthusiastic crowd.
I officially had a favorite new album by a favorite new band.
Alien Lanes’ opening track, “A Salty Salute,” is a timeless classic with its chugging guitar and anthemic battle cry:
Disarm the settlers
The new drunk drivers
Have hoisted the flag
We are with you in your anger
It’s the kind of song you’d be tempted to play on repeat if the next track, “Evil Speakers,” wasn’t just as good. Same with track three, “Watch Me Jumpstart.” And the one after that, “They’re Not Witches”…and so on.
To this day, it’s hard for me to play any song from GBV’s eighth full-length album without listening to the whole thing. The band’s stripped-down recordings and short, hooky style was a revelation back then, but the immaculate songwriting and killer guitar riffs stand the test of time.
The overall effect is like discovering a long-lost British Invasion-era compilation, snippets of should-have-been hits broadcast on a staticky AM radio. It’s a nostalgic sound that’s at its most magical on pop songs like “My Valuable Hunting Knife,” “As We Go Up, We Go Down” and “Closer You Are.”
Have I mentioned “Striped White Jets,” “King and Caroline” or “A Good Flying Bird”? Another couple paragraphs and I will have listed all 28(!) tracks. Instead, I’ll leave you with some thoughts about “Motor Away,” the one I’ve listened to the most over the years.
What is it about certain songs that burrow their way under your skin and into your soul? Maybe it’s the loping, circular rhythm. Or the fuzzed-out guitar tone. It’s hard to say for sure, but with “Motor Away” Pollard’s plaintive lyrics (delivered in a faux British lilt) definitely play a part:
When you motor away
Beyond the once-red lips
When you free yourself
From the chance of a lifetime
Pollard is a man of many talents, but writing evocative lyrics has to be near the top of the list. At their best, his words are like tightly crafted riddles that have the power to elicit visceral responses. He seems intent upon giving listeners enough powerful cues to let them fill in the emotional blanks:
You can be anyone they told you to
You can belittle every little voice that told you so
And then the time will come when you add up the numbers
And then the time will come when you motor away
Oh, why don’t you just drive away?
Is it a song about a breakup? The start of a new life? Is he giving advice to a drinking buddy, or bitterly lecturing an ex-lover? An ex-bandmate? I think it all depends on where the listener is in their life when they first hear it.
That’s a hell of a trick and few songwriters do it at Pollard’s level. Which is especially mind-blowing when you consider how prolific he and countless versions of the band have been, releasing 30+ albums since the early 80s.
Bee Thousand, Mag Earwhig! and Under the Bushes, Under the Stars are among my favorite GBV albums, but Alien Lanes is the one I come back to most often. It definitely stands on its own, but for me it will always be the soundtrack to a specific time in my life. Isn’t that often the way with our favorite albums?
To quote “A Salty Salute”—The club is open. Come inside.
Like 90s music? Check out this list of 10 tracks you might have missed.
