17. Let’s Go Eat The Factory (2012)

After an eight-year recording hiatus, Guided By Voices returned last year with a vengeance, releasing three new albums and bringing the “classic lineup” back together for the first time since 1996. The first of the three, Let’s Go Eat the Factory has all the elements of classic GBV: unpredictable song structures, a ramshackle, tossed-off feel, even a bit of tape-hiss for the purists. But even after repeated listens, few of the melodies or lyric hooks have much staying power. There are some exceptions like the rocking single, “The Unsinkable Fats Domino,” and the weirdly heartfelt ode to a girl and the pastries she loves, “Doughnut For A Snowman.” Honestly, it’s impressive enough that after 15 albums GBV is still able to create new melodic formulations using only the most basic atomic units of rock and roll. Still, Let’s Go Eat The Factory didn’t inspire a whole lot of excitement over the reunion, which is a shame because the two albums that would follow it last year made the comeback worth it.