Guided by Voices: Under the Bushes, Under the Stars

Guided by Voices: Under the Bushes, Under the Stars

1996

Matador Records


Track Listing: 1. Man Called Aerodynamics  2. Rhine Jive Click  3. Cut-Out Witch  4. Burning Flag Birthday Suit  5. The Official Ironmen Rally Song  6. To Remake the Young Flyer  7. No Sky  8. Bright Paper Werewolves  9. Lord of Overstock  10. Your Name Is Wild  11. Ghosts of a Different Dream  12. Acorns & Orioles  13. Look at Them  14. The Perfect Life  15. Underwater Explosions  16. Atom Eyes  17. Don't Stop Now  18. Office of Hearts  Bonus Tracks: 19. Big Boring Wedding  20. It's Like Soul Man  21. Drag Days  22. Sheetkickers  23. Redmen and Their Wives  24. Take to the Sky



Y'know. When I listen to music, I don't often think too hard about it. When I put on "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" during my normal workdays my thoughts are along the lines of, "Hell, yea! This rocks!" But when I sit and write about it, I realize my feelings on "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" are sorta all over the place...

First off, it's obligatory to mention that this is the Classic Line-Up's last stand.  Sure, a quick glance at any of their album covers will show they never really had a stable line-up (middle-aged dudes with jobs and families tend to be pretty unreliable band-wise), but when GBV fans think of GBV, they're usually thinking of something that involves Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, etc.  And there is a twinkling, twilight feeling of finality here...Like that weird final night hanging out with your High School buddies before you all have to head off to college or something..I can clearly recall the night this album finally clicked with me: I came home from a long night of delivering pizza. No one else was around, so I fired up the stereo and listened to records all night by myself...So that might be coloring my perception of this album..

This is also where GBV takes the big leap into mid-fi. There's little in the way of obvious flubs, minimal  tape hiss, no mics cutting out, no guitars dropping off the face of the Earth and ending up on the back of milk cartons. It's a  comparatively  polished   performance.  Some of  this can get a little ear-splitting and tinny at times  ("No Sky" particularly crackles during its highs) but the bedroom-rock vibe is greatly diminished and they sound like a relatively normal indie rock band at this point.  

The "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" album, as intended is a much emptier and less fulfilling experience without the 6 bonus tracks. Now, as far as I know, the album was never issued without the unlisted bonus tracks (the titles themselves are only listed on a sticker) so I personally count them as part of the official track listing. Anyway, my point is, I consider the regular album a mixed experience (generally speaking) but the bonus tracks to be the single greatest run of GBV songs of all-time (minus "Take to the Sky" and maybe that guitar solo on "Sheetkickers"). My God, "Big Boring Wedding" has one of the band's catchiest, coolest and most flat-ass great choruses. And Tobin Sprout absolutely nails "It's Like Soul Man"'s hook to the ceiling. He sings the titular line a few different ways and every single one works. It's so damn sturdy you can do no wrong with it. "Drag Days" sees GBV resurrecting their earlier, "Box"-ier style and out-REM-ing REM. It just calmly, cooly knocks you out as the chiming, jangly guitars shimmer like distant stars. And "Redmen and Their Wives" is probably in my top-five or so GBV songs. At first, that sad, descending guitar riff so perfectly conjures Midwestern loneliness and desperation but by the end there's such an undeniable sense of quiet triumph that you can't possibly help but be moved. One of the best late-night, drink-by-yerself rock songs that I know of.

All this knock out stuff at the end makes "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" one hell of a back-loaded albums. I like the first five songs just fine but my pants don't get truly knocked off until "The Official Ironmen Rally Song" which I'd argue is one of the band's finest moments. A seemingly humble, melancholy rocker that sneaks up on you with moments of  understated, emotional exultation.  I literally, to this day, get goose-bumps at certain points in this song...To be specific somewhere around the, "Confirmations through the wire, Spitting gas into the fire..." line...When he finally asks if he's worthy of a drink the only proper response is to hand the man a beer...

On the first few listens the album's second half can sound same-y, considering all of the songs are mid-tempo, spangling indie rock. But multiple listens eventually reveal all the subtle hooks and suddenly you'll realize what a treasure trove side two of the record is.  "Underwater Explosions" is breathlessly hooky, "Atom Eyes" has a golden, early autumn glow that greatly appeals to me but the real highlight as a re-recording of "Don't Stop Now" which is a freakin' masterpiece. It strikes me as the pinnacle of the classic era. Swooning hooks carved in sky, lyrics about a pet chicken that becomes a mean old rooster. There are very many songs where people rotely sing about the best time of their lives but GBV goes a huge step further and makes you actually feel that best day of your life...There's this feeling of weightless, wide-open camaraderie and hard-won fun...The feeling of a perfect day (well, as perfect as a day can be in the real world. Right?) actually caught and preserved on tape. Shit like this is why GBV is my favorite band...

Here's the revised ranking. I'm giving "Under the Bushes, Under the Stars" the number 3 spot. Although there are days I probably prefer it to  "Bee Thousand," I ultimately feel like it gets off to a slow start but once it takes off...Hoo boy! A grower worth growing into (that just sounds gross...)

1. Alien Lanes

2. Bee Thousand

3.Under the Bushes, Under the Stars

4. Propeller

5. Same Place the Fly Got Smashed

6. King Shit and the Golden Boys

7. Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia

8. Vampire on Titus

9.. Sandbox
10. Forever Since Breakfast
11. Devil Between My Toes

Let's listen to some music. Here's "Redmen and Their Wives" by the Mighty GBV...Enjoy...