Guided By Voices - “For The Home”

Before we turn the page on 2023, we’ll be getting another Guided By Voices album. It’ll be the third album the group releases this year, making it the second consecutive year that they’ve released three albums. That’s six records in two years. I know that’s simple math, but it’s worth plainly stating.

At 66, frontman Robert Pollard is showing no signs of slowing down, and the quality of his songwriting remains unmatched. Welshpool Frillies, their July 2023 full length, was a cover to cover masterpiece and featured some of Pollard’s strongest post-pandemic output. He’s picking up the baton up with “For The Home,” the lead single from Nowhere To Go But Up.

“For The Home” is more reminiscent of the band’s classic sound than any other release in recent memory. The sparse, plucked guitars in the beginning evoke memories of deep cuts from their 1989 album Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia or 1990’s Same Place The Fly Got Smashed. It’s also four and a half minutes long, making it an epic by GBV standards. Pollard flexes his melodic muscles quite prominently on “For The Home,” as his distinctive voice and catchy riffs combine to make both the verses and choruses as memorable as can be.

Stream the track below.

The song is also available on all streaming platforms. You can preorder a copy of Nowhere To Go But Up on vinyl via the band’s website. It’s out on 11/24. Keep up with GBV by following them on Instagram.