Guided By Voices: Down by the Racetrack (2013)

TOTAL SCORE: 11, AVG: 1.83

One of the cornerstones of the classic era GBV is all the extra content available through EP's during the 90's. For the most part the EP's were quirky side-quests to the relevant album's main quest, and they helped define the legacy of GBV in a big way. Chasing down those hard to find EP's and hearing the odd gem among the oddities is a GBV right of passage. For the classic reunited era most of that extra content is covered in the 20+ singles released between 2011 and 2014, but we did get one EP during that time as well...

Down by the Racetrack is in many ways reminiscent of those early-mid 90's EP's in that it has a focus point (in this case the title track) packaged together with a scattering of ideas that are generally off in some way or another. Sound quality is front and center as a feature, in that it isn't really that good, but it is also expected. Compared with those old classic lineup EP's, however, Down by the Racetrack just doesn't quite compare. 

The title track is the album's closest analog to the EP's gem (the EP's Shocker in Gloomtown if you will). The Sprout-led rocker features Sprout's echo-y vocals over giant heavy riffs, and I find I like it the more I hear it. That being said, there are not any real "gems" on Down by the Racetrack, and that might be what is truly missing when comparing this to the classic lineup EP's of the 90's. 

It Travels Faster Through Thin Hair has Pollard singing in a higher range than usual and there is a nice chord progression throughout, but ultimately it doesn't really stand out. Pictures of the Man has a pretty slick riff and accompanying lead guitar, but it is for some reason accompanied with all types of weird sounds that just bury what I think is a decent song underneath it all. Tobin Sprout's Amanda Gray is a sweet and soft melody that only lasts 43 seconds. 

Standing in a Puddle of Flesh is close to being a toss-off to me, and it is difficult to know just how serious we are supposed to take it. Bashed on keyboards and silly lyrics are the main feature of this song. And with Copy Zero, you can immediately hear something a little more closer to normal, and it ends up being a standard Pollard mid-tempo jingle that is the least of what we would expect.

At the end of the day, this era of GBV is not getting its Sunfish Holy Breakfast or Japanese Spin Cycle. It is getting its Clown Prince though, and that is going to be good news for some fans, and a bit of a let down for folks like me. But still, one bad EP is not going to wreck the amazing output from this lineup between 2011 to 2014.

You can read about the new ranking style here. And without further ado, here is the ranking of Down by the Racetrack:

Among Bob's Best
-- none

Gems

- none

Almost Gems

- none

They're Good

06 Down by the Racetrack

 

They're OK

02 Pictures of the Man

03 Amanda Gray

05 Copy Zero

Could Live Without

01 It Travels Faster Through Thin Hair

04 Standing in a Puddle of Flesh

Toss-Offs & Throwaways

- none

Given the scoring above, the album would get 11 points total (and an average of 1.83).