Space Gun definitely has a heavier, meatier sound than either of the first two albums from this lineup. The band sound absolutely on-point here, in fact I even wonder if Travis somehow managed to convince Bob that these songs deserved more than the usual āone or two takes then we move onto the next oneā approach when they were in the studio? Itās certainly the most polished-sounding Bob album since Isolation Drills IMO.
This is the album which tends to be the yardstick against which all subsequent releases from the current lineup are judged (ātheir best one since Space Gun!ā), and I guess itās easy to see why. Bob conjured up an especially strong set of songs here, overflowing with memorable melodies and catchy choruses. Only āEvolution Circusā doesnāt really land for me, and itās still pretty good.
Personal highlights from Space Gun:
See My Field - A GBV all-timer for me, and absolutely my favourite thing on the album. This song just lodges itself in my head for days after Iāve heard it. A true barnstormer of a song.
Sport Component National - Another one of those Bob songs which automatically puts a big grin on my face. I tend to find some of Bobās multisectioned songs a bit overwhelming sometimes, but here everything fits together brilliantly. This is basically three or four super-catchy tunes welded in to one, and I love every second of it.
I Love Kangaroos - a light-hearted pop song which doesnāt take itself too seriously. I love that Bob still enjoys writing this sort of tune.
Grey Spat Matters - ninety seconds of punky pop goodness.
I think I mustāve overplayed the title track a bit, I used to love it but for some reason it doesnāt do much for me now.
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Keep getting When We All Hold Hands from ABC stuck in my head
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Just realised what the next album isā¦.
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surprisingly quiet week for what I thought would be a well received album! Iāve been sick for half of it so havenāt got my coherent thoughts together, but was a big fan overall. Will come back with a write up later (and the ABC one I still owe as well ā¦)
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SPACE GUN
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- Space Gun
- Colonel Paper
- King Flute
- Ark Technician
- See My Field
- Liarsā Box
- Blink Blank
- Daily Get-Ups
- Hudson Rake
- Sport Component National
- I Love Kangaroos
- Gray Spat Matters
- Thatās Good
- Flight Advantage
- Evolution Circus
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voters
Enjoyed Space Gun, itās one Iād already heard but good to go back to. Lots of really good tracks which meant picking just three was pretty tricky this time.
Not heard any of the upcoming albums now until we get to 2023.
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Think I was probably being a bit unkind to Space Gun when I described it as overrated upthread. Itās better than I remembered it being, and deserves a high spot on my updated leaderboard:
- Bee Thousand
- Under The Bushes Under The Stars
- Propeller
- Alien Lanes
- Isolation Drills
- The Bears for Lunch
- Class Clown Spots a UFO
- Space Gun
- How Do You Spell Heaven?
- Universal Truths & Cycles
- Do The Collapse
- Vampire on Titus
- Mag Earwhig!
- August By Cake
- Please Be Honest
- Motivational Jumpsuit
- Half Smiles of the Decomposed
- Earthquake Glue
- Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
- Cool Planet
- Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
- Devil Between My Toes
- English Little League
- Letās Go Eat The Factory
- Forever Since Breakfast
- Sandbox
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Space Gun!
Sorry Iām a bit behind due to Easteringsā¦ I rated this one when it came out and have gone back to it a lot over the years. But itās been a while, so letās dive right in.
The opening title track makes a lot of sense as a single. Itās perhaps a bit standard for me. A bit radio rock, maybe ā not hitting the highs of Diver Dan or Dr Feelgood off of Heaven and ABC respectively. It doesnāt need to be over 4 minutes long. Theyād also do some better singles in the next little epoch.
Colonel Paper is alright. Itās pretty clear weāre in similar sonic territory as the last album. That fairly good mid-fi rock thing. King Flute is a pretty little number. Ark Technician is too, with some very good guitar lines and good atmosphere.
See My Field really switches everything up I think. Great twangy riff and instantly hooky lyrics. This wouldāve been the better opening track, surely. The first few tracks arenāt bad but this is in another league imo. Great use of strings and great guitars.
Liars Box starts worryingly stodgy but when the band comes in itās cool and that crunchy riff is totally righteous going into that great outro.
Blink Blank is kind of a classic Bob album track for this era of GBV. Itās pretty repetitive and annoying all told. And over long. Doug canāt even save it.
Daily Get Ups is very cool. Quite a Wire-y riff and the punkiest of the tracks yet. Hudson Rake is a pretty great slow number with some decent atmosphere too, before switching into Sports Component National. This is certainly one of my favourite cuts from the record. Love the opening power pop, breaking into the lofi thing, then the rockinā riff, and that take it home outro. Itās one of those proggy things this line-up of GBV loves trying but they donāt always get right for me. This one manages to take you on such a journey in less than 3 minutes.
I Love Kangaroos is another pretty number. The opening lyric is a bit cringy but the jaunty tune and the remaining lines just carry it. Itās silly. But it works. Itās got a McCartney (solo) vibe. Grey Spat Matters is cool too. It could be on any era GBV album and fit right in. Thatās Good is fantastic. Great vocal and atmosphere again. This era of GBV is great at hitting on these kind of haunting ballads, I think. Again, great strings.
Flight Advantage isnāt bad, quite funny vocals and lyrics by Bob, but not particularly memorable beyond that. More of a b-side. Evolution Circus closes the record with some quite grungy guitars. It has a good atmosphere, like many of the tracks on here, and is cool when it kicks off nearly drowning Bob out. Sonically I like it as a bit of a mood piece, but there are numerous better album closers within this track list, Iād say.
So, yeah. I think Space Gun is very good. Dropping Blink Blank and sticking more of the better cuts in the first half would improve it for me but it still hangs together very well. I remember putting together a Human Amusements 2 playlist together a few years back and I think at least 3 tracks off this ended up on it. Iād stand by that to be honest. See My Field and Thatās Good are real gems, while Sports Component National is a personal fave from this line-up. Nice!
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Woah, thatās a high ranking. Kudos!
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slowly rolling onto the next epic entry with ZEPPELIN OVER CHINA
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This is going to be hard work
The 3 singles from this album were very strong but I can barely remember any of the album tracks, despite seeing half of them live
I liked that they announced their Primavera show by releasing the single My Future In Barcelona
I wonder if I can convince Bob to write any songs about Ireland
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The Rally Boys was their first great post-reformation song.
Canāt remember much of the rest. Itās a biggie
nah there were a few of those on Space Gun last week!
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The title of the album comes from a song written by Pollard in the late 70ās titled āZeppelin over China (And Everybody Thinks Itās a Raincloud)ā. Originally written for a local new wave/punk/garage band called Dash Rip Rock and the Hairspray Boys, he would go on to record the song, later titled āTheolonius Has Eaten All the Paperā with his other band, Circus Devils.[5]
Interesting tidbit
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Ugh, this frickinā album 
This is the one which the Earful blog guy likened to āwading through cold grey sludgeā (or words to that effect), and heās not wrong. Thereās just so much of it, much of it not very good.
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