3. Under The Bushes, Under The Stars (1996)

At the time, Under The Bushes, Under The Stars had the highest production values of any Guided By Voices album, recorded on 24-tracks instead of their 4-track Portastudio. But honestly most of these songs sound like they could’ve been captured on 4-tracks. The biggest difference between Under The Bushes, Under The Stars and its predecessors are that nearly every song here is structured like songs are “supposed” to be. But again, you’d hardly notice. Like Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, the record is made up of unforgettable riffs, infectious vocal melodies, and little else; the fact that they fit together more logically is beside the point. Meanwhile, on classics like “The Official Ironmen Rally Song,” “It’s Like Soul Man,” and “Your Name Is Wild,” the band begins to hint at stadium-sized ambitions while keeping the songs themselves human-sized. By remaining tethered to the lo-fi aesthetic but thinking big, Under The Bushes, Under The Stars is propelled by a sense of tension that the band hasn’t really explored since.