Return to form? What was the form, exactly? This is a question that should be addressed before approaching Let’s Go Eat the Factory, the umpteenth release under the Guided By Voices umbrella and the first in years to include its “classic” lineup of Robert Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell and Greg Demos. GBV were always a revolving circus of Pollard and whomever he played with at the time, but being the first in a while recorded with the lineup employed during the band’s '90s heyday, and once again including songs from Sprout, it’s something to celebrate for sure. But don’t expect Bee Thousand or Alien Lanes, exactly — Let’s Go Eat the Factory is loveably ramshackle and makes its most intriguing ideas concise as usual, keeping you coming back to find which were those bits that had you humming and tapping along. Like their contemporaries in The Breeders and Sebadoh, that’s always been part of the fun with GBV releases, and graciously, Let’s Go Eat the Factory is loaded with such moments, from the dueting vocals and rawk guitars of “Imperial Racehorsing” to some of Pollard’s best kiss-offs in years, like the minute-long perfection of “How I Met My Mother” and off-key prettiness of “Doughnut for a Snowman.” And Sprout, for his part, contributes some of the strongest and most fully formed songs on Factory, especially the summery, swirling “Waves.”

Also available on LP.


Free download of "Let's Go Eat the Factory" by Guided by Voices.