Canāt remember what score Iāve given anything tbh
Not sure if Iāve gone lower than a 6 yet
1 Like
Nah, I had to go back and look at them again. But, thanks to @JaguarPirateās incredible admin skills and all round threadsmithery itās really easy to find the old polls and links to when we chatted about old albums. Canāt believe weāve been doing this for like 7 months!
2 Likes
The best thing Iāve done in that time tbh
3 Likes
Except those who give it a 10!
2 Likes
As with every GBV album, there are still a good number of highlights on Plague. These were my fave four songs from the album:
Street Party - bouncy acoustic pop which sounds a bit out of place compared to the rest of the album. I think Bob said this was a holdover from the Warp & Woof sessions which he decided to work up into a full song (all two minutes of it!) - on that album it would probably have been a sixty second pop nugget.
Heavy Like the World - excellent choice for the single IMO. Maintains a brooding, epic feel which accurately reflects the mood of the album itself. The closing line is great too, āHeavy like the words on your tattoos, Put some danger in your life and more ink in your tattooā.
Your Cricket (Is Rather Unique) - another Suitcase reworking, I think? A lovely melancholic pop song with a soaring chorus. Still think this wouldāve benefitted from full Bob vocals, though.
Sons of the Beard - a good example of the proggy approach working well. A really interesting, collage-like song which also manages to incorporate some subtle synth lines too. One of Bobās mini rock opera attempts, and certainly one of the most successful.
2 Likes
Mum check in
Loved Space Gun, especially the title track, Liarās Box and I love Kangaroos! But overall a really strong album
3 Likes
Roughly all my favs too
1 Like
so definitely a drop off after the scattershot fun of W+W. Standouts are
- Street Party - fun little groove, love the big silly harmonised guitar moment in the middle
- Heavy Like the World - minus the similarities to a better GBV song, itās lovely really. Sweet and ringing and widescreen, feels like a big singalong set closer. Great Doug guitar break as usual
- Your Cricket is Rather Unique - total standout, no surprise it turns out to be a Suitcase track. Just strong melodies, lovely chorus, the drums are pretty cool specifically too
- My Wrestling Days are Over - great title, and probably the weirdest track on here, Bob nicking Tobinās fake strings vibe. Really feels like something fun off an EP from the first time Doug was in the band - kinda Earthquake Glue energy
- Sons of the Beard - too long I think, but yeah does at least commit to the proggy multi part thing and does something good with it. Moody start into that really cool synth (not a sound Iād ever heard from GBV before), then that guitar guitar section about 3 mins in - stunning, peak Doug, elevates the track to a whole new level
I do quite like the darkness of Downer as it gives it a bit more of a menacing edge, but doesnāt make for the most engaging opener. Into the a cappella opening of Motherās Milk, but whole track doesnāt build to anything. The Very Second is decent, good solo and I always like acoustic mixed into rock band tracks - but too long and that crappy acoustic intro and outro add nothing.
All the rest have elements going for them but yeah just never quite take off, or outstay their welcome - another album less about melodies and more about (not very inspiring) grooves
5 maybe? Cool Planet is sort of my benchmark for all these lesser reunion albums - that was messy as hell but the highs were still really bright and engaging, but unlikely to ever return to it as an album on its own merits due to the overall flaws
1 Like
If I didnāt own it I probably never would have given this a second listen, thought it was more clunky Zeppelin shite when I first heard it, but I actually like quite a few songs on this album as it turns out. 12 tracks is quite refreshing as well.
1 Like
Yeah, I reckon the sweet spot for the current lineup is around twelve songs for an album. Things can start to drag a little on those eighteen song ones.
1 Like
donāt sweat it, itās poll time!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
0
voters
- Downer
- Street Party
- Motherās Milk Elementary
- Heavy Like The World
- Ego Central High
- The Very Second
- Tiger On Top
- Unfun Glitz
- Your Cricket (Is Rather Unique)
- Immortals
- My Wrestling Days Are Over
- Sons Of The Beard
0
voters
about the easiest track selections for me from any album so far, clear top 3 there
1 Like
also enjoyed Immortals of the ones I didnāt vote for, the vocal hook at the end came right back to me when it came on
2 Likes
Yeah likes the swagger of that, seemed to have more energy than other similar ones
I wish I could give half points, because this feels like a very 6.5/10 kinda album.
Anyhows, updated personal 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
- Warp & Woof
- 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
- Sweating The Plague
- Self Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
- Cool Planet
- Same Place the Fly Got Smashed
- Devil Between My Toes
- Zeppelin Over China
- English Little League
- Letās Go Eat The Factory
- Forever Since Breakfast
- Sandbox
Just popping in to prepare you to SURRENDER YOUR POPPY FIELD
One of the ones from this period I actually did listen to, remember it being good I think
4 Likes
On the one hand, what a great/weird name for an album.
On the other hand, that has to be one of the worst album covers from any era of the band 
good fun! somewhere in the Space Gun/Warp and Woof tier
only two songs over 3.5 mins long, lots of energy, melodies to spare, no bad songs or sections with multiple weaker tracks in a row. Starts stronger than it ends, about my only real critique
maybe doesnāt sparkle quite as much as Space Gun, or I got more from SG cos it was brand new to me, but a strong reunion entry
1 Like
This guy has Surrender Your Poppy Field at no. 2 in his list, which as a whole is way, way weirder than any any of us has posted so far!:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GBV/comments/k0n88c/i_attempted_to_rank_94_of_robert_pollards_albums/
(I should note I really admire that, although I canāt understand how anyone would ever end up with these results)
3 Likes