Nowhere to Go but Up
Nowhere to Go but Up | ||||
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Studio album by Guided by Voices | ||||
Released | November 24, 2023 (2023-11-24) | |||
Genre | Indie rock[1] | |||
Length | 38:43 | |||
Label | Guided by Voices, Inc. | |||
Guided by Voices chronology | ||||
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Singles from Nowhere to Go but Up | ||||
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Nowhere to Go but Up is the thirty-ninth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on November 24, 2023 through their own Guided by Voices, Inc. label. It has received positive reviews from critics and was preceded by the singles "For the Home" and "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead".
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Paste | 9.0/10[5] |
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Fred Thomas writing that this album "stands apart from the two records that preceded it by months as much as it carves out a new space for itself in the lengthy GbV saga that's been mutating since the early '80s" and continuing that by "the end, Nowhere to Go but Up grows more compositionally adventurous, but saves some catchiness for even its most complexly mapped songs".[4] At BrooklynVegan, Bill Pearis chose this for Album of the Week, stating that Nowhere to Go but Up "finds the band wildly ambitious and totally up to the challenge" and shows that the band has yet to peak[6] and it was also shortlisted for one of the best albums of November 2023.[7] Editors at Paste chose this for album of the week and critic Pat King rated it a 9.0 out of 10 for being part of "the absolutely unprecedented winning streak Pollard and the current version of Guided by Voices have been on" and stating that this is an "essential" entry in the band's discography, ending "there really is no precedent for a band like Guided by Voices, or an artistic visionary like Robert Pollard".[5] It was also shortlisted for one of the ten best albums of November 2023.[8] Editors at Pitchfork included this in a short list of albums to listen to for the week.[9] Grant Sharples of Uproxx included this among the best indie music of the week, calling their 2023's studio albums a hat trick and looking forward to future releases by the band.[10]
Paste included this among the 30 best rock albums of 2023.[11] This was included in the 40 best independent albums of 2023 in BrooklynVegan's Indie Basement[12] and the site's listing of 33 great albums from indie/alternative legends, along with La La Land.[13]
Track listing
All songs written by Robert Pollard.
- "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead" – 3:30
- "Puncher's Parade" – 3:53
- "Local Master Airplane" – 2:16
- "How Did He Get Up There" – 4:03
- "Stabbing at Fractions" – 2:48
- "Love Set" – 3:54
- "We're Going the Wrong Way In" – 2:31
- "Jack of Legs" – 3:37
- "For the Home" – 4:38
- "Cruel for Rats" – 3:03
- "Song and Dance" – 4:31
Personnel
Guided by Voices
- Bobby Bare Jr. – guitar, backing vocals
- Doug Gillard – guitar, backing vocals, string arrangement
- Kevin March – drums, backing vocals
- Robert Pollard – lead vocals, guitar, cover art, layout
- Mark Shue – bass guitar, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Travis Harrison – production, back cover photography
- Terri Nelles – photography
- Joe Patterson – layout
- Vince Williams – art direction
- Sarah Zade-Pollard – art direction
See also
References
- ^ "Weekly Releases 11.24.2023". News. Sputnikmusic. November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (October 11, 2023). "Guided by Voices announce 3rd album of 2023, Nowhere to Go but Up - hear "For the Home"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ Rettig, James (October 31, 2023). "Guided by Voices – "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead"". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ a b Thomas, Fred (n.d.). "Guided by Voices – Nowhere to Go but Up". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ a b King, Pat (November 22, 2023). "Guided By Voices: 'Nowhere To Go But Up'". Music > Reviews > Guided by Voices. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (December 1, 2023). "Album reviews: Guided by Voices, Harp (ex-Midlake), more". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (December 1, 2023). "Indie Basement: Best Songs & Albums of November 2023". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ "The Best Albums of November 2023". Music > Lists > Best Albums. Paste. December 2, 2023. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Minsker, Evan; Monroe, Jazz (November 24, 2023). "9 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Kamaiyah, Guided by Voices, and More". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ^ Sharples, Grant (November 28, 2023). "All The Best New Indie Music From This Week". Indie Mixtape. Uproxx. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ "The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2023". Music > Lists > Best Albums. Paste. December 10, 2023. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
- ^ Pearis, Bill (December 21, 2023). "Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2023". Indie Basement. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ Pearis, Bill; Sacher, Andrew (December 27, 2023). "33 great 2023 albums from indie / alternative legends". Retrieved December 27, 2023.
External links
- Entry in the Guided by Voices Database
- Nowhere to Go but Up at Discogs (list of releases)
- Nowhere to Go but Up at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- v
- t
- e
- Robert Pollard
- Doug Gillard
- Mark Shue
- Bobby Bare Jr.
- Kevin March
- Tobin Sprout
- Mitch Mitchell
- Greg Demos
- Kevin Fennell
- Jim Macpherson
- James Greer
- Devil Between My Toes (1987)
- Sandbox (1987)
- Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (1989)
- Same Place the Fly Got Smashed (1990)
- Propeller (1992)
- Vampire on Titus (1993)
- Bee Thousand (1994)
- Alien Lanes (1995)
- Under the Bushes Under the Stars (1996)
- Tonics & Twisted Chasers (1996)
- Mag Earwhig! (1997)
- Do the Collapse (1999)
- Isolation Drills (2001)
- Universal Truths and Cycles (2002)
- Earthquake Glue (2003)
- Half Smiles of the Decomposed (2004)
- Let's Go Eat the Factory (2012)
- Class Clown Spots a UFO (2012)
- The Bears for Lunch (2012)
- English Little League (2013)
- Motivational Jumpsuit (2014)
- Cool Planet (2014)
- Please Be Honest (2016)
- August by Cake (2017)
- How Do You Spell Heaven (2017)
- Space Gun (2018)
- Zeppelin Over China (2019)
- Warp and Woof (2019)
- Sweating the Plague (2019)
- Surrender Your Poppy Field (2020)
- Mirrored Aztec (2020)
- Styles We Paid For (2020)
- Earth Man Blues (2021)
- It's Not Them. It Couldn't Be Them. It Is Them! (2021)
- Crystal Nuns Cathedral (2022)
- Tremblers and Goggles by Rank (2022)
- La La Land (2023)
- Welshpool Frillies (2023)
- Nowhere to Go but Up (2023)
- Strut of Kings (2024)
- Forever Since Breakfast (1986)
- The Grand Hour (1993)
- Static Airplane Jive (1993)
- Get Out of My Stations (1994)
- Fast Japanese Spin Cycle (1994)
- Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer (1994)
- I Am a Scientist (1994)
- Tigerbomb (1995)
- Sunfish Holy Breakfast (1996)
- Plantations of Pale Pink (1996)
- Wish in One Hand… (1997)
- Plugs for the Program (1999)
- Hold on Hope (2000)
- Dayton, Ohio–19 Something and 5 (2000)
- Daredevil Stamp Collector (2001)
- The Pipe Dreams of Instant Prince Whippet (2002)
- Down by the Racetrack (2013)
- Wine Cork Stonehenge (2018)
- 100 Dougs (2018)
- 1901 Acid Rock (2019)
- Umlaut Over the Ozone (2019)
- Live from Austin, TX (2007)
- The Best of Guided by Voices: Human Amusements at Hourly Rates (2003)
- Crickets: Best of the Fading Captain Series 1999–2007 (2007)
- Scalping the Guru (2022)
- Box (1995)
- Suitcase: Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft (2000)
- Hardcore UFOs: Revelations, Epiphanies and Fast Food in the Western Hemisphere (2003)
- Suitcase 2: American Superdream Wow (2005)
- Suitcase 3: Up We Go Now (2009)
- Suitcase 4: Captain Kangaroo Won the War (2015)
solo albums
- Not in My Airforce (1996)
- Waved Out (1998)
- Kid Marine (1999)
- Motel of Fools (2003)
- Fiction Man (2004)
- Relaxation of the Asshole (2005)
- From a Compound Eye (2006)
- Normal Happiness (2006)
- Silverfish Trivia (2007)
- Standard Gargoyle Decisions (2007)
- Coast to Coast Carpet of Love (2007)
- Superman Was a Rocker (2008)
- Weatherman and Skin Goddess (2008)
- Robert Pollard Is Off to Business (2008)
- The Crawling Distance (2009)
- Elephant Jokes (2009)
- We All Got Out of the Army (2010)
- Moses on a Snail (2010)
- Space City Kicks (2011)
- Lord of the Birdcage (2011)
- Mouseman Cloud (2012)
- Jack Sells the Cow (2012)
- Honey Locust Honky Tonk (2013)
- Blazing Gentlemen (2013)
- Faulty Superheroes (2015)
- Of Course You Are (2016)
- Carnival Boy (1996)
- Moonflower Plastic (1997)
- Let's Welcome the Circus People (1999)
- Lost Planets & Phantom Voices (2003)
- The Bluebirds of Happiness Tried to Land on My Shoulder (2010)
- The Universe & Me (2017)
- Tower in the Fountain of Sparks (2001)
- Life Starts Here (2002)
- Brown Submarine (2008)
- The Planets are Blasted (2009)
- Zero to 99 (2009)
- Our Cubehouse Still Rocks (2010)
- Let It Beard (2011)
Doug Gillard albums
- Speak Kindly of Your Volunteer Fire Department (1999)
- Mist King Urth (2003)
- Waving at the Astronauts (2011)
- In Shop We Build Electric Chairs: Professional Music by Nightwalker 1984–1993 (1999)
- Big Trouble (2000)
- Choreographed Man of War (2001)
- Calling Zero (2002)
- Blues and Boogie Shoes (2006)
- Ringworm Interiors (2001)
- The Harold Pig Memorial (2002)
- Pinball Mars (2004)
- Five (2005)
- Sgt. Disco (2007)
- Ataxia (2008)
- Gringo (2009)
- Mother Skinny (2010)
- Capsized! (2011)
- When Machines Attack (2013)
- My Mind Has Seen the White Trick (2013)
- Escape (2014)
- Stomping Grounds (2015)
- Laughs Last (2017)