This is the reunited Guided By Voices' third album of 2012, in case you had lost count. Right off, from the opening track "King Arthur the Red," with its full-throated riffery, slam-tastic drums, and even some show-offy lead guitar shredding, it's evident that GBV Mach 2 may just now be hitting its stride. The progression is not dissimilar to the one the band made from the classic "Alien Lanes" album to its 1996 high-water mark "Under The Bushes, Under The Stars", both in terms of longer, more fleshed-out songs and let's call it a semi-pro approach to recording fidelity. For all the well-deserved acclaim GBV's first two records this year have garnered, "The Bears For Lunch" is a step up in every sense. This isn't to say there's a whole lotta gloss ... read more