“There’s been no time period that we don’t fit into,” says Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices. “A lot of people connect with the ’60s thing. I think that’s with the melodies; I don’t think melodies have ever been as good as in the ’60s. We also have the metal edge and the punk edge. And sometimes we have that post-punk thing going. A little glam, power pop, everything.”
Truth be told, Pollard told us that way back in 1997. And given that GBV celebrates 35 years making records in 2021, Pollard and Co. have only continued to branch out musically since he made that statement, with the last few GBV records, for example, showing off a more-overt prog side.
But Pollard is often a soft-rock renegade and a pop Zeus with a psychedelic eye, so to exorcise these very-real demons, he temporarily reconfigured Guided By Voices into a psych pop/rock band called Cub Scout Bowling Pins. Think of Cub Scout Bowling Pins as GBV’s equivalent of XTC’s Dukes Of Stratosphear. (Kids, ask your grandparents to explain the reference.)
Cub Scout Bowling Pins will release debut album Clang Clang Ho on July 2 via Guided By Voices Inc. One of the LP’s standouts is “© 1-2-3,” a short-and-sweet song that sounds like something the Byrds and Who might’ve recorded in 1965 after a night of stoned/drunken jamming. Or, to quote Cub Scout Bowling Pins (who only speak collectively when it comes to their music), “The song is low-key power pop in a colorful album filled with flower-power-riff-ic wonder.”
We’re proud to premiere “© 1-2-3” today at MAGNET. Check it out right here, right now. And dig the cool visuals courtesy of GBV bassist Mark Shue, which will, according to Cub Scout Bowling Pins, “take you on a ride in their magic taxi.”
You can pre-order Clang Clang Ho here. Guided By Voices tour dates below.
GBV Tour Dates
8/28 — Skully’s Music Diner, Columbus, OH
9/10 — Irving Plaza, NYC
9/11 — Royale, Boston
10/8 — Tellus360, Lancaster, PA
10/22 — Ottobar, Baltimore
10/23 — College Street Music Hall, New Haven, CT
11/12 — Thalia Hall, Chicago
11/13 — Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland
12/17 — Phoenix, Toronto
12/18 — Mr. Smalls, Pittsburgh