Photo: Trevor Naud
PRE-ORDER & SHARE: Guided By Voices – Crystal Nuns Cathedral
Rockathon Records
Guided By Voices have always played by their own rules and they’ve kept extraordinarily busy during the pandemic. Three albums in 2020 and two albums in 2021 garnered amazing press, and they’re now selling out shows everywhere. But the new album Crystal Nuns Cathedral tops them all!
The mighty Guided by Voices are set to unleash upon the world their 35th and quite possibly…BEST album, Crystal Nuns Cathedral, on March 4, 2022. How do they do it you might ask? Well, we don’t know how they do it, but we certainly do know WHY they do it. They do it because quite honestly we NEED them to do it. The world needs The Rock, and we need loud guitars, we need anthemic songs, we need a reason to raise a rock fist in the air and give a “Hell Yeah!” On Crystal Nuns Cathedral, the band delivers all of this and so much more.
Just four months since It’s Not Them. It Couldn’t Be Them. It Is Them!, comes Crystal Nuns Cathedral, twelve songs determined to challenge for the title of greatest Guided by Voices album of all-time. Hyperbole you say? Not this time. The guitars are bigger, the arrangements are more ambitious, the songs are uplifting, epic, and as incredibly hook laden as always!
Pure power pop perfection like lead single “Excited Ones” mix perfectly with the slow burning “Climbing a Ramp” which reaches its climax on a stunning guitar lead before dissolving into the fist pumping anthem “Never Mind the List,” which serves as the beating heart of the entire album. Do you still need convincing? Listen to the one-two punch of “Forced to Sea” and “Huddled” and marvel at the epic scope and vision of an incredible band on full display.
This record is a statement, a challenge, a monument, a call to arms. Top this one if you can, this is the new benchmark. Who will best it? Who will try? Listen to Crystal Nuns Cathedral, and report back to us. We will be eagerly waiting.
Due to Omicron Covid surge, Guided by Voices are canceling a pair of upcoming shows in New York City and Boston later this month, but they’ll kick off an actual tour on March 18 at the Majestic Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin. Tickets for all upcoming gigs are available at GBV.com/tour.
GUIDED BY VOICES LIVE
Fri, March 18 – Majestic Theatre – Madison, WI
Sat, March 19 – Fine Line – Minneapolis, MN
Wed March 23-24 – Treefort Music Fest – Boise, ID
Sat, March 26 – Neumos – Seattle, WA
Sun, March 27 – Revolution Hall – Portland, OR
Tue, March 29 – Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
Wed, March 30 – The Catalyst – Santa Cruz, CA
Fri, April 1 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
Sat, April 2 – Pappy & Harriets – Pioneertown, CA
Sat, Apr 30 – Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
