La La Land
by Guided by Voices
  • Record Label: GBV
  • Release Date: Jan 20, 2023
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. AllMusic
    Jan 19, 2023
    80
    La La Land captures the incredibly rare state of a band still sounding fresh and curious on their 37th LP, and shows no indication of Pollard and co. stopping anytime soon.
  2. Dusted Magazine
    Feb 9, 2023
    80
    They nail the curves and changeups so well that you only notice the complexity in retrospect. While it’s happening, it seems mostly like good rock music
  3. Mojo
    Jan 19, 2023
    60
    Another Day To heal opens encouragingly. ... Midway through, La La Land derails, as Queen Of Spaces errs into forlorn folky picking, while Slowly On The Wheel opens with one-finger piano and voice. The Chugging Face Eraser and Baba O'Riley-ish Pockets pulls things together. [Feb 2023, p.84]
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  5. PopMatters
    Feb 21, 2023
    70
    It’s too early to say if the era of Alien Lanes is gone for good, but it is safe to say that this group lineup has helped add another tool to Pollard’s songwriting toolbox. Not to mix metaphors, but it’s a look that they wear well. Consider the transition successful.
  6. Slant Magazine
    Jan 19, 2023
    90
    Not only does the band’s output remain as inexhaustible and freewheeling as ever, the album stands as some of their best late-career work.
  7. Uncut
    Jan 19, 2023
    80
    La La Land picks up where that album [Tremblers And Goggles By Rank] - their second of 2022 - left off. [Feb 2023, p.24]
  8. Under The Radar
    Feb 21, 2023
    60
    Kudos for trying to expand a tried and tested formula, but a lot of La La Land sounds like dozens of fragments of tunes crazy glued together in a hurry.