All of a sudden, the forthcoming Guided By Voices album, Half Smiles Of The Decomposed, has taken on a whole new meaning. When the album is released on August 24, it will be the last new Guided By Voices studio recordingÖ ever. GBV frontman Robert Pollard announced Saturday night at a gig at New York’s Bowery Ballroom (April 24) that the band will split at the end of this year. “That’s it,” Pollard said of the band’s 21-year career. “You can’t be the Rolling Stones. You’ve gotta quit while you’re relatively handsome.” Billboard also quotes Pollard as saying the band will “go out in a blaze of fire,” and “We are the kings of indie rock. When we quit, indie rock will die.” A few people I talked with who were at the blistering, three-hour-long rock show said Pollard was hilarious the whole night. “He was so funny we almost peed in our pants,” said Beggars promo sweetheart Jenn Lanchart.
An official statement regarding the news has yet to be released by Matador, so we don’t know for sure if GBV will tour in support of their forthcoming album. What we do know is that Pollard did say the group’s final show would be held on New Year’s Eve in New York City. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble getting ticketsÖ NOT! (remember how funny that used to be?)
