In their nearly forty-year history, Guided by Voices has not exactly been kissed by success. With »I Am A Scientist« they had something of a semi-hit in the nineties. That was pretty much it. Maybe it was because of their brittle, sympathetic sound, or the many changes in line-up – it definitely couldn’t have been because of the songs themselves. This is also proven by the reissue of their debut album, »Devil Between My Toes«, which was released in 1987. Influences of R.E.M. and post-punk can be heard, but also the charming touch of Guided By Voices itself. While in »A Portrait Destroyed By Fire« the guitar intones a swan song, »Discussing Wallace Chambers« delivers much more light-hearted tones that anticipate part of the band’s future sound. »Hey Hey, Spaceman« would never have been picked up on on a Pixies record. In between, there are instrumentals like »Bread Alone« and even more whimsical pieces like »Dog’s Out«. Which also has to do with the fact that the band’s EPs had previously aroused little interest among the press and the public. As a consequence, only 300 pressings of their debut were released first off. Audience: Robert Pollard, founder and frontman. An album in itself. Although the fourteen tracks show that that is not entirely true. (And also a career that did after all attract a small indie audience). Maybe it just wasn’t the right time! But now, 35 years later, the album should appeal to a few more listeners than it did back then.
Horsegirl
Phonetics On & On
Matador