Guided by Voices

Half Smiles of the Decomposed (Matador)

And so we come to last call at the House of GbV, and it's hard not to get a bit misty. Despite whatever indifference or disappointment greeted anything he'd made since Under the Bushes, over the years Bob Pollard had become a bit like The Dude -- we took comfort in knowing that he was out there, The Drunk, doing a high-kick for all us sinners. As such, it's tempting to let GbV's final record take a back seat to The Concept of "GbV's Final Record" -- which, in some ways, is okay. There's nothing that separates Decomposed too drastically from the last few GbV outings. Pollard dutifully sprinkles a few mind-blowing pop songs ("The Closets of Henry") amid a bunch of barely adequate ones. While this album is unlikely to gain the group any eleventh-hour fans, it provides just enough to remind the rest of us what we'll be missing three years from now.

 
My Voice Nation Help
 

Concert Calendar

  • May
  • Sun
    19
  • Mon
    20
  • Tue
    21
  • Wed
    22
  • Thu
    23
  • Fri
    24
  • Sat
    25
St. Louis Event Tickets
©2013 Riverfront Times, LLC, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places St. Louis

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city