Guided By Voices ‎"Under The Bushes Under The Stars" 2xLP

After firmly establishing themselves as America's most original and interesting band of part-time, over-30 garage rockers, Under the Bushes Under the Stars found Guided by Voices dipping their toes into something resembling professionalism. Leaving behind the homemade studio craft of their previous work, this album was recorded in a pair of actual recording studios, and the sessions boasted an outside producer (friend and temporary fellow Ohioan Kim Deal); while no one would mistake the results for the latest Bob Rock project, the set sounded more like a "real" record than anything GBV had attempted up to that time. The new edition of the band attempted to rise to the occasion, and though the performances lack the passion of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes' finest moments, the stronger playing and cleaner production honors the pop sensibilities of Robert Pollard's songwriting.