Half Smiles of the Decomposed (CD)
The final Guided By Voices album. After twenty-odd years, twenty-odd lineups, and twenty-odd albums, EPs, singles, triples, stolen bases, misdemeanor convictions, and broken hearts, Dayton, OH's fortunate sons are taking leave of your senses. Listen to this: it will never happen again. Their swansong is their most serious and mature record in years, more akin to those recorded in the mid-90s than their most recent releases. At the same time, it's influenced by both American and British mid-60s chime-pop, pointing out the intricate interweaving guitar lines, the stunning wordplay, the vastly melancholic, and somehow still uplifting tone, the impeccably tossed-off phrasing, and the stately, plump rhythm section. Elegiac and remorseful; a jewel of a farewell.![]()
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| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking) |
| 2 | Sleep Over Jack |
| 3 | Girls of Wild Strawberries |
| 4 | Gonna Never Have to Die |
| 5 | Window of My World |
| 6 | Closets of Henry |
| 7 | Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial |
| 8 | Asia Minor |
| 9 | Sons of Apollo |
| 10 | Sing for Your Meat |
| 11 | Asphyxiated Circle |
| 12 | Second Spurt of Growth |
| 13 | (S)mothering and Coaching |
| 14 | Huffman Prairie Flying Field |