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- Summary: The Ohio band fronted by Robert Pollard offers up a 19-track set that is not just a return to former home Matador Records but a full return to classic, self-produced GBV form, after working with outside producers on the previous two albums.
- Record Label: Matador
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 14 out of 18
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Mixed: 4 out of 18
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Negative: 0 out of 18
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GBV have made a record that should please any fan still listening.
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Universal Truths and Cycles has got something for everyone who's ever liked Guided By Voices even a little.
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Fans might finally have a proper companion to the arena-in-my-closet-rock of '95's Alien Lanes.
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While it doesn't recapture the magic of the Sprout-era Guided by Voices records, Universal Truths and Cycles marks the return of some of the most sorely missed qualities of early Guided by Voices: strong vocal melodies and refreshingly atypical song structures.
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Alternative PressThe band have gelled into Pollard's best yet, and it's their brief forays into prog-rock complexity that make the record stand out within the GBV catalog. [Jul 2002, p.82]
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GBV are self-produced once again and simultaneously looser and sharper as a result.
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Universal Truths and Cycles shows the band has lost touch with the most important thing outside producers brought to their TVT albums -- someone to help pick, choose, and sequence Robert Pollard's over-abundance of songs.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 0 out of 1
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Mixed: 1 out of 1
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Negative: 0 out of 1
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Apr 6, 2018
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