Guided By Voices
Bee Thousand
Play Bee Thousand
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MOG Editorial Review
Recorded on four-track machines rather than in the studio, Guided by Voices found their first widespread acclaim by keeping their gritty lo-fi sound in tact, even using some demo versions for the final cut. The album, much of it inspired by frontman Robert Pollard’s fourth grade class, plays like a set of fragmented snippets more than fully fleshed out tracks. With few songs going over the two minute mark, Bee Thousand has become a masterpiece that holds up as well as it did in 1994 partially because it never wears out its welcome. “Echoes Myron” and “Queen of Cans and Jars” bring to light Pollard’s innate ability to write catchy hooks, whereas “Smothered in Hugs” lets the band turn up the distortion and fuzzy guitars that have become synonymous with Guided by Voices. They’ve released many like-minded albums since, but none of them are as spectacularly raw and spontaneously inspired as this 1994 landmark.
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AMG Review of Bee Thousand
Mark Deming
All Music GuideThe cult of indie rock thrives on the unexpected discovery, and in 1994 Guided by Voices was just the sort of musical phenomenon no one figured was still out there -- 30-something rock obsessives cranking out fractured guitar-driven pop tunes in a laundry room. Robert Pollard and his stable of beer buddies/backing musicians had been churning out stuff like Bee Thousand for years, but the album's surprise critical success marked the first time the group found a significant audience outside their hometown, and it made a clear case for Guided by Voices' virtues -- as well as their flaws. From the moment "Hardcore UFOs" kicks in, it's obvious that Pollard has an uncanny gift for a hook and a melody, and Bee Thousand's 20 cuts are dotted with miniature masterpieces like "Echos Myron," "Smothered in Hugs," and "Queen of Cans and Jars." However, there are also more than a few duds that threaten to cancel out the goodwill the great songs generate, and Pollard is an acquired taste as a lyricist -- his freakishly poetic verse has a real charm, but it's hard to figure out what he's on about. (GBV's other principal songwriter, Tobin Sprout, contributes less often, but manages a higher batting average.) The lo-tech rumble of the album's D.I.Y. production also wavers between being a help and a hindrance, depending on the songs, and as musicians Guided by Voices veer between sounding like inspired amateurs and, well, just amateurs. On Bee Thousand, Guided by Voices sounds like a passionate and gloriously quirky garage band fronted by a thrillingly and maddeningly idiosyncratic songwriter; its many pearly moments make it a fascinating discovery for rock enthusiasts, but a few years would pass before this band was fully earning the new accolades showered upon it.
 "Bee Thousand")
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