Guided by Voices

Let's Eat the Factory Fire Records****

Guided by Voices has always been an idiosyncratic swirl of creativity around Robert Pollard's brilliant mind, but there is a "classic" (1993-1996) line-up, featuring Greg Demos, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout and Kevin Fennell, who in the wake of their live shows last year, collaborated on what is GBV's 16th record. It's been worth the wait. From the pure- sounding flutes on Doughnut for a Snowman, to the strident violins on Hang Mr Kite,the squealing guitars on The Big Hatand Toy Showand the clear-sighted piano on The Things That Never Need, GBV move to old-fashioned, sometimes psychedelic garage rock ( How I Met My Mother) and fuzzy folk (My Europa), and still find time for the effects- heavy Old Bones, and the poetic lyrics, and scuzzy codas of Go Rolling Home, proving that they are akin to the subject of their ode, Fats Domino: unsinkable. See gbv.com

Download tracks: Doughnut for a Snowman, My Europa, The Things That Never Need