While no one would have guessed it at the time, the inglorious collapse of the "classic" lineup of Guided by Voices in 2014 has proved to be one of the best things that could have happened to the band. The collection of 1993 through 1996 stalwarts Robert Pollard first assembled for reunion shows in 2010 had nostalgia and lots of goodwill going for them, but the six albums they cut between 2012 and 2014 hardly ranked with GbV's best work, and their abrupt flame-out suggested the group's sell-by date had come at last. But since returning to action in 2016, Pollard and his latest set of collaborators -- Doug Gillard and Bobby Bare, Jr. on guitars, Mark Shue on bass, and Kevin March on drums -- have been on a remarkable hot streak, and this edition has delivered some of the strongest studio work of GbV's career. 2017's August by Cake and How Do You Spell Heaven and 2018's Space Gun were ambitious and accomplished in a way GbV hadn't achieved since the early 2000s, and 2019's Zeppelin Over China is every bit as memorable as its immediate predecessors. Once again, the big difference is two-fold: by slowing down his legendary productivity, Pollard is giving us one very good album a year instead of two or three so-so ones, and he's working with musicians who don't just accompany him, but add richness and texture to his songs. Like Space Gun, Zeppelin Over China finds GbV leaning more toward the prog rock side of Pollard's melodic influences (though there are still tunes to die for scattered throughout). Doug Gillard is a guitar player with the chops and good taste to make the most of the melodies, and he's also written string and horn arrangements for several tracks that put the right amount of whipped cream on the top of this sundae. Bare, Shue, and March do a superb job of holding down the rhythms, and producer Travis Harrison reminds us that hi-fi doesn't have to be a bad thing for Guided by Voices as long as he gives the players the space to do what they do best. Delivering 32 songs in 75 minutes, Zeppelin Over China is overstuffed in the grand GbV tradition, and it delivers like the loosest slot machine in Las Vegas, paying off over and over with great songs and vigorous, inspiring rock & roll. Guided by Voices have been enjoying an unexpected but very welcome late-career renaissance, and anyone who has ever had a taste for their singular take on rocking pop owes it to themselves to check out Zeppelin Over China.
MARK DEMING