English Little League | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 30, 2013 | |||
Studio | The Public Hi-Fi Balloon in Dayton, Ohio | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 45:54 | |||
Label | Guided by Voices Inc. / Fire Records (UK) | |||
Guided by Voices chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 71/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Consequence of Sound | [2] |
The A.V. Club | B [3] |
English Little League is the 19th album by Dayton, Ohio rock group Guided by Voices. [4]
In a July 2013 interview with Magnet magazine, Robert Pollard hinted that English Little League would be the final Guided by Voices album. [5] A 20th album Motivational Jumpsuit was then released in 2014.
All tracks are written by Robert Pollard, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Xeno Pariah" | 2:04 | |
2. | "Know Me As Heavy" | 2:50 | |
3. | "Islands (She Talks In Rainbows)" | Tobin Sprout | 2:16 |
4. | "Trashcan Full Of Nails" | 3:31 | |
5. | "Send To Celeste (And The Cosmic Athletes)" | 3:19 | |
6. | "The Quiet Game" | Sprout | 3:19 |
7. | "Noble Insect" | Pollard, Sprout | 3:24 |
8. | "Sir Garlic Breath" | Pollard, Greg Demos | 2:26 |
9. | "Crybaby 4-Star Hotel" | 1:53 | |
10. | "Biographer Seahorse" | 3:36 | |
11. | "Flunky Minnows" | 2:12 | |
12. | "Birds" | Pollard, Sprout | 2:45 |
13. | "The Sudden Death Of Epstein's Ways" | Sprout | 2:16 |
14. | "Reflections In A Metal Whistle" | 1:47 | |
15. | "Taciturn Caves" | 3:55 | |
16. | "A Burning Glass" | 2:01 | |
17. | "W/ Glass In Foot" | 2:20 | |
Total length: | 45:54 |
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) [6] | 21 |
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted of Pollard, his brother Jim, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, Kevin Fennell (drums), and bassist Greg Demos. Noted at first for its lo-fi aesthetic and Portastudio four-tracks-to-cassette production methods, Guided by Voices' music was influenced by early post–British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, punk rock and post-punk. The band has had a prolific output, releasing 40 full-length albums along with many other releases, and has garnered a dedicated cult following. Their songs are known for their frequent brevity and for ending abruptly or intertwining with homemade sound effects.
The Amps were an American alternative rock band formed by Kim Deal in 1995, while her band the Breeders went on hiatus. The group consisted of Deal, on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Luis Lerma on bass; Nate Farley on lead guitar; and Jim Macpherson of the Breeders on drums. Kelley Deal, Kim's sister, was also briefly involved, but had to leave the band due to drug problems. The group was named when Kim Deal started calling herself Tammy Ampersand for fun, and the band Tammy and the Amps. They recorded the album Pacer in the United States and Ireland.
Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop, riot grrrl, and the import of African popular music in the West. He was the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music; he was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world–when he talks, people listen."
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. is an American singer and songwriter. He is the leader of indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to this, he has also released 22 solo albums.
The Guided by Voices discography includes dozens of releases, both official and unofficial. Robert Pollard, the main creative force behind the band, is an extremely prolific songwriter, having written or co-written more than 1,600 songs, with over 500 of them released under the Guided by Voices moniker.
Bee Thousand is the seventh album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on June 21, 1994, on Scat Records. After its release the band became one of the more prominent groups associated with the "lo-fi" genre, a movement defined by the relatively low fidelity of audio releases. Musically, the album draws inspiration from British Invasion-era rock music and punk rock. Following the release of Bee Thousand, the band began to attract interest from other record labels, eventually signing with Matador for their next album.
Alien Lanes is the eighth full-length album by American lo-fi band Guided by Voices, released on April 4, 1995.
Mag Earwhig! is the 10th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. Following the dissolution of the group's "classic" lineup, band-leader Robert Pollard recruited Cleveland group Cobra Verde as his backing band, while retaining the Guided by Voices name. It was the second release to feature future long-term collaborator Doug Gillard. Gillard had previously played on and co-wrote the song "Mice Feel Nice " on the Tigerbomb EP. Most of Mag Earwhig! was recorded in a professional studio in Cleveland by the new lineup and marked a departure from band's trademark lo-fi sound; additional songs were also recorded in Dayton, Ohio.
Universal Truths and Cycles is the 13th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. After releasing their previous two albums on TVT Records, Guided by Voices returned to Matador Records.
Douglas Scott Gillard is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde.
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is the third album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It is considered to be the first album in the group's discography to have their signature sound which was achieved by using low fidelity recording techniques.
Circus Devils is an American psychedelic rock band founded in 2001 by Robert Pollard, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the Dayton, Ohio, band Guided by Voices. The band consists of Pollard, Todd Tobias, and Tim Tobias (music).
Todd Tobias is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known for his work with Robert Pollard and his band Guided by Voices. Other projects include Circus Devils, Kramies, The Library Is On Fire, and musical theater composer and lyricist George Griggs.
Under the Bushes Under the Stars is the ninth Guided by Voices album overall, and the last until 2012's Let's Go Eat the Factory to feature the "classic" lineup including Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, and Kevin Fennell in addition to leader Robert Pollard. The album is noted as Guided by Voices' first stab at professionalism, being recorded in 24 track studios rather than their customary 4 track. Sessions for the album were reportedly arduous, spread as they were across at least four studios and as many sets of producers, and many titles and configurations were vetted before a final sequence was reached.
Crickets: Best of the Fading Captain Series 1999–2007 is a collection of songs from releases in the Fading Captain series of Dayton, Ohio rock singer-songwriter Robert Pollard. Pollard launched his Fading Captain series of record releases in 1999, eventually releasing 44 works before ending the series in 2007. The compilation Crickets was the 44th and final release in the series. The series included albums, singles, and EPs, and featured collaborations with musicians including Tobin Sprout, Mac McCaughan, Doug Gillard, and Tommy Keene.
Class Clown Spots a UFO is the 17th album by Dayton, Ohio rock group Guided by Voices. The album is the second released since the reunion of the band's classic lineup earlier in the same year and it debuted at #12 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers albums chart.
Blazing Gentlemen is the 20th studio album by American musician Robert Pollard. It was released in December 2013 under Guided by Voices Records.
Please Be Honest is the 23rd album by Dayton, Ohio, rock group Guided by Voices. It was released April 22, 2016, on Guided by Voices Inc. Robert Pollard wrote all the music and played every instrument on the record.
Space Gun is the 26th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. It was released on March 23, 2018 under Guided by Voices, Inc.
Zeppelin over China is the 27th studio album by American indie rock group Guided by Voices. It was released on February 1, 2019 on the Rockathon Records label and was recorded at Magic Door in New Jersey, Serious Business Records in New York and Stillwater Lodge in Dayton, Ohio. The double album received mixed to favorable reviews from critics scoring 65 out 100 on aggregate website Metacritic and four out five stars on AllMusic, with several critics commenting on the positive output of the band's current lineup.