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Strut of Kings

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Strut of Kings
A black-and-white graphic of a woman cradling a child, standing in a mountain range with a green-tinted image of the Earth inset behind her
Studio album by
Guided by Voices
ReleasedJune 28, 2024 (2024-06-28)
Genre
Length35:39
Label
  • Guided by Voices, Inc.
  • Rockathon
ProducerTravis Harrison
Guided by Voices chronology
Nowhere to Go but Up
(2023) 		Strut of Kings
(2024)
Singles from Strut of Kings
  1. "Serene King"
    Released: April 16, 2024[1]
  2. "Cavemen Running Naked"
    Released: May 15, 2024[2]

To tell you the truth, I like unfocused albums, but this one seems more focused. The structures are more cohesive. It also has a nice balance of the genres in rock that I like. Some nice power pop songs but also some fairly crazy stuff. A good balance, emotionally, of heavy and light.

—Vocalist and songwriter Robert Pollard on how Strut of Kings fits into Guided by Voices' catalog.[1]

Strut of Kings is the fortieth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on June 28, 2024, through Rockathon Records and their own Guided by Voices, Inc. label. It has received positive reviews from critics and was preceded by the singles "Serene King" and "Cavemen Running Naked".

Reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Exclaim!6/10[5]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Strut of Kings received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.[3] Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that the songwriting displays Robert Pollard's interest in progressive rock "with stately melodies, big guitars, arrangements that make the most of dynamics, and drumming that milks the drama for all its worth".[4] At BrooklynVegan, Bill Pearis stated that this album continues the band's hot streak since reforming in 2017 and that this album has "indie rock earworms" and "gloriously titled fist-pumpers".[6] Exclaim!'s Daniel Sylvester scored Strut of Kings a 6 out of 10, critiquing that songs are stretched too thin with filler, but continued that "the core of many of these numbers are incredibly strong and tight".[5] This was album of the week at Louder Than War, where Nathan Whittle gave it 4 out of 5 and wrote that this music has the "ability to turn on a sixpence, to jump from their earlier alt/rock spark to moments that breath with more space and drop down into plaintive spaces that keeps your ear to their furtile ground".[7] Stevie Chick of Mojo gave this album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "Pollard sounds more curious and engaged here than on some recent releases, and the result is the most compelling GBV of their third act".[8] Online retailer Qobuz included this among the five best rock albums of the month, stating that it "is packed with anthems-in-waiting replete with big, hooky choruses and powerful, crunching guitars".[9] In Uncut, Daniel Wray called this album "a pleasing yet ever-shifting journey to be taken on" and scored it an 8 out of 10.[10]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Robert Pollard.

  1. "Show Me the Castle" – 4:25
  2. "Dear Onion" – 1:47
  3. "This Will Go On" – 2:09
  4. "Fictional Environment Dream" – 3:55
  5. "Olympus Cock in Radiana" – 2:50
  6. "Leaving Umbrella" – 3:36
  7. "Cavemen Running Naked" – 2:22
  8. "Timing Voice" – 3:32
  9. "Bit of a Crunch" – 4:42
  10. "Serene King" – 3:14
  11. "Bicycle Garden" – 3:07

Personnel

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Guided by Voices

Additional personnel

  • Travis Harrison – production
  • Ray Ketchem – drum recording
  • Joe Patterson – layout, art department
  • Vince Williams – art department
  • Sarah Zade-Pollard – art management

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b DeVille, Chris (April 16, 2024). "Robert Pollard Told Us About Strut of Kings, The Only New Guided by Voices Album of 2024". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Rettig, James (May 15, 2024). "Guided by Voices – "Cavemen Running Naked"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Strut of Kings by Guided by Voices Reviews and Tracks – Metacritic". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. n.d. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Deming, Mark (n.d.). "Strut of Kings – Guided by Voices". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Sylvester, Daniel (June 27, 2024). "Guided by Voices' 'Strut of Kings' Is a Little Wobbly". Exclaim!. ISSN 1207-6600. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  6. ^ Pearis, Bill (June 28, 2024). "Album reviews: Folk Implosion, Guided by Voices, Loma, Redd Kross, more". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  7. ^ Whittle, Nathan (July 7, 2024). "Guided By Voices: Strut Of Kings – Album Of The Week". Album Reviews. Louder Than War. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Stevie, Chick (August 2024). Bulley, Jenny (ed.). "Filter Albums". Mojo Filter. Mojo. No. 365. p. 82. ISSN 1351-0193.
  9. ^ Laughlin, Jeff; Hong, Sujan; Viraporn, Nitha (July 8, 2024). "The Qobuz Guide to June 2024". Music News. Qobuz. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Wray, Dylan (July 2024). "New Albums". Uncut. p. 35. ISSN 1368-0722.
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