Class Clown Spots a UFO

For those looking for the highs of Robert Pollard’s best pop songs, Class Clown Spots a UFO absolutely delivers. The title track, “Class Clown Spots a UFO,” and “Keep It in Motion” eschew the group’s usual lo-fi antics for a fuller sound, and either could have been radio staples two decades ago. There are also a handful of acidic, guitar meltdowns that draw on the band’s psychedelic side. “Tyson’s High School” combines Pollard’s typical lyrics about grade school with a wall of guitar fuzz. Class Clown is arguably more uneven than Let’s Go Eat the Factory, because there is a larger gulf between the catchy songs and the weird ones. But any album that provides space for “Lost in Spaces,” a sub-one-minute piano ballad by Tobin Sprout is a winner in my book.

If you are familiar with Guided By Voices and Robert Pollard, you know what to expect even if you have given up trying to keep up with all the many many records. The "classic" GBV lineup does seem to be the best vehicle for Pollard after all and for whatever intangable reasons this new album hits the sweet spots. Class Clown finds the right balance in production, and is one of the most listenable albums in Bob Pollard's career, with an excellent flow and sequencing from start to finish.I'm sure with with Let's Go Eat the Factory many wondered if this was just a novelty. With Class Clown Spots a UFO, GBV has come full circle, thou probably wiser for the journey. Makes me look forward to the next record, and hopefully the one after that.

Wow. Yes. Definitely.I confess, I was a skeptic. Let's Go Eat the Factory never really impressed me, and I was worried that Class Clown would simply follow suit. Not the case at all. This one truly feels like a proper GBV release, and dare I say, it wouldn't be out of place in their 90's era works. I'm not yet sure I'd lump it with the golden three (Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, or Under the Bushes), but I'd easily lump it with Vampire and/or Propeller, and that's no small statement. This is the first GBV album in a long time that I found myself truly excited about during listening; it builds momentum and makes one eager to see where it goes next.With Factory, Sprout's offerings carried and ultimately saved the album. Outside of three or four tracks, Pollard didn't have much of value to give. With Class Clown, Pollard is definitely back, and Sprout has a stunning six songs on the album, all of which are again very solid. There isn't a track on the whole thing that bogs the album down and that you'd like to skip but know you shouldn't. Admittedly, Class Clown might eventually deserve an extra star with more listens, but it's an easy four right now.The title track is astounding. Again, to contrast to their previous effort, my biggest complaint about Factory was that it lacked a true single. This album is more like an Alien Lanes in that it has a few true singles, a number of very solid songs to bookend them, and excellent sequencing to make it feel balanced as an album, something that Factory also lacked. This album is such a clear step forward that I'm now honestly looking forward to the next album, not because I'm at all dissatisfied with the offering I have in my hands now, but because this album is proof that the boys still have it, even if I wasn't initially a believer. Call me a convert.

Wonderful addition to my musical collection. First heard them on the local college radio, and decided I would love the whole album--which I did! Definitely checking out more music by Guided by Voices.

You have to get this album if you are any type of GBV fan, classic sounds harking back to the early 90's.

Class Clown Spots A UFO is an excellent record. Better than Let's Go Eat The Factory, which was pretty good. After 4 or 5 listenings it's really opening up and has a lot to offer, especially if you're a Tobin fan. Good songs and really good vocals throughout, several moments of brilliance that just make me smile. Right up there with BT and AL.

What a disappointing mess. About a decade after witnessing a train wreck of a GBV show in Albuquerque (in which a typically plastered Pollard tossed beers into the crowd and ranted about the undeserved critical praise bestowed upon indie rocker/warbly whiner "Bright Eyes"), I had hoped the flag bearer of GBV had finally gotten his bearings and produced a mature, seasoned disc populated by tunes displaying the flashes of genius that had attracted so many of us in the first place. Nothin' doin'. About 85% of this (I'm being generous) should have never seen vinyl, plastic or electronic format. This is a horribly undisciplined parade of protean concoctions, half-realized constructions and ought-to-have-been-aborted musical notions with a scant few gems struggling to offer any redemptive value. The disc opens in a vaguely promising way, but by the godawful 4th track (the title track, no less)the disaster becomes too apparent to deny. A few "songs" actually manage to claw their way out of the sonic dross, becoming almost memorable (the gentle "Be Impeccable" and the somewhat dirgey "Forever Until It Breaks" come to mind), but for the most part, "Class Clown.." is an epic fail, deserving of considerable detention if not outright expulsion.