These came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got them. Here’s what I said about them back then (with some minor editing):
Now that indie-rock god Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices has hired a new crew and gone off to record a major-label album in the hopes of becoming a big-time rock star, it’s up to the band’s former members to carry the band’s indie-rock torch.
Thankfully, these two post-GBV releases — one from guitarist Tobin Sprout and the other from bassist Mitch Mitchell’s new outfit Terrifying Experience — are more than up to the task. Both tap into the same rich vein of rock gold that GBV mined: The abstract lyrics (“Snakes are arrows of the moon,” suggest T.Ex.; “Smokey Joe seems to jester to wounds that fester,” rhymes Sprout), the British Invasion musical foundation, the lo-fi production, the ringing guitars and soaring vocals. But if Mitchell has the rock ’n’ roll heart of GBV beating in his chest, Sprout has custody of its sensitive soul. While T.Ex. revel in garage-rock thunder, he prefers Beatlesque pop; when Mitchell flails away at a power chord and a raucous chorus, Sprout responds with a gently strummed guitar and a perfect harmony. Mix them together on a tape and you’ll have one of the best albums GBV never made.
