The release of Zeppelin Over China (Feb 1st), an album title appropriately conjuring visions of a large scale and high concept endeavor, has every indication of a major milestone for Guided By Voices and frontman Robert Pollard. The double LP album consists of 32 songs and clocks in at 75 minutes (yes, that’s only ~2.5 minutes per song) — no song reaches four minutes. The experience of listening to Zeppelin Over China is a truly cohesive yet rambunctious audio journey, with the tone set immediately with the quick grungy cuts “Good Morning Sir” and “Step of the Wave”. If you aren’t impressed after the first five songs, the extended tracklist won’t win you over by the end. But if you are impressed, or willing to give the remainder a shot, then completing the album feels expectedly rewarding.
I’ve never been a Guided By Voices fan. Not by choice. Their music just never crossed my path, and when it did, it never stuck. As a fan of Pearl Jam, however, I found that Zeppelin Over China recalls the stylings of late ’90’s Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam albums such as No Code, Yield, and Binaural. Imagine these albums without the lyrical hooks, but instead with a flowing energy that plows through song after song like an emotional stream-of-consciousness bulldozer —in a good way.
One of those standout bulldozer moments is “Blurring the Contacts”, a poetic track that thumps furiously, laced together with backdropping vocals tuned like changing radio frequencies. Another memorable track comes in the form of “The Hearing Department.” As it began, I wondered if I had accidentally switch to R.E.M., as the song’s jangling guitars backing a mumbly emotional story of identity, loneliness, and miscommunications (I think — in true R.E.M. fashion the meaning is interpretive). The album also isn’t without its self-referential irony, in that the title track is not only the shortest song (just thirty-nine seconds), but consists of simple guitar plucks and background laughter. It has all the components of an outtake, and may very well be one. It hangs suspended in our minds, producing some lightheartedness; it’s a breath of fresh air as it casually busts up the flow of the album as we round the final turn into the home stretch. It’s a joyful spot in an otherwise alternative, grungy experience.
Is Zeppelin Over China a long album? Yes. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. It gives you plenty of songs to pick out and slap into a chill mix, if that’s what you’re into. Newcomers and casual fans may not have the stamina for a full listen through, but I can envision longtime fans will be on board from the first to last riff. No track is more indicative of this than “Where Have You Been All My Life”, which showcases the lasting energy of the album, even at track #25. It shows that even after thirty-five years (albeit on and off) and twenty-five full-length records, there’s still plenty of headspace for foot-stomping chants, crowing yeahs, and playing confidently amidst and beyond musical expectations.
