GUIDED BY VOICES – FOREVER SINCE BREAKFAST (I WANNA RECORDS) 1986
By: Randy Nieto
“It’s been a long, long, long, long, long, long time…”. In fact, it has been quite some time since Guided By Voices released their debut EP Forever Since Breakfast (27 years to be exact). I distinctly remember putting this record on at my apartment and my roomate’s brother asking me if I was listening to R.E.M. The opening track, Land of Danger, totally shreds. The vocals are catchy and actually do sound a little like Michael Stipe. “Let’s Ride” is not as catchy, but has a playful innocence to it. The chorus is pretty cool, with a little guitar refrain that frames it nicely. “Like I do” is an acoustic number I do not really care for, but then “Sometimes I Cry” picks the record right the fuck back up with a clear, obvious influence by The Who. It’s awesome and catchy as hell.
I’m going to stop here and say two things… 1. The guitar sound on the record gets a little tiring. There isn’t really any variation, and you get the feeling you’re listening to the same chords over and over again. 2. That being said, the songs are very well written and super catchy. You can easily see the seed of indie rock planted with influences from R.E.M., Wire, and The Who. I can picture beer bellied guys in Ohio in 1986 who love drinking PBR and head banging to Zeppelin being totally into this record. The rest of the EP is really good, but I’m going to let you find that out on your own. If you like indie rock, classic rock, or GBV, this is one you should check out.
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