Mag Earwhig! is the 10th studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices. Following the dissolution of the group's "classic" lineup, band-leader Robert Pollard recruited Cleveland group Cobra Verde as his backing band, while retaining the Guided by Voices name. It was the second release to feature future long-term collaborator Doug Gillard. Gillard had previously played on and co-wrote the song "Mice Feel Nice (In My Room)" on the Tigerbomb EP. Most of Mag Earwhig! was recorded in a professional studio in Cleveland by the new lineup and marked a departure from band's trademark lo-fi sound; additional songs were also recorded in Dayton, Ohio.
| Mag Earwhig! | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 20, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Studio | Cro-Magnon Studios (Dayton, Ohio) | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 45:52 | |||
| Label | Matador | |||
| Producer |
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| Guided by Voices chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | (8.0/10)[2] |
The album touches on elements of hard rock and progressive rock on tracks such as "Portable men's society" and "Little Lines", alongside typical shorter lo-fi tracks.
Track listing edit
All songs written by Robert Pollard unless otherwise noted.
- "Can't Hear the Revolution" – 1:36
- "Sad If I Lost It" – 3:10
- "I Am a Tree" (Doug Gillard) – 4:40
- "The Old Grunt" – 1:28
- "Bulldog Skin" – 2:59
- "Are You Faster?" (Jim Pollard, R. Pollard, Tobin Sprout) – 1:13
- "I Am Produced" (R. Pollard, Sprout) – 1:06
- "Knock 'Em Flyin'" – 1:52
- "Not Behind the Fighter Jet" – 2:13
- "Choking Tara" – 1:24
- "Hollow Cheek" – :32
- "Portable Men's Society" – 4:16
- "Little Lines" – 2:02
- "Learning to Hunt" – 2:24
- "The Finest Joke Is Upon Us" – 3:08
- "Mag Earwhig!" – :39
- "Now to War" – 2:44
- "Jane of the Waking Universe" – 2:25
- "The Colossus Crawls West" – 2:13
- "Mute Superstar" – 1:24
- "Bomb in the Bee-Hive" – 2:03
Personnel edit
Guided by Voices[3] edit
- Robert Pollard – vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, lead guitar (tracks 6, 15), drums (track 1), casio (tracks 1, 2)
- Doug Gillard – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, nylon-string guitar, backing vocals, bass, lead guitar (tracks 3, 5, 12, 17, 20, 21)
- John Petkovic – electric guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals, lead guitar (track 13)
- Don Depew – electric guitar, bass, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals
- Dave Swanson – drums, maracas, backing vocals
Additional musicians edit
- Tobin Sprout – bass, slide guitar (track 18); backing vocals (tracks 1, 18), lead guitar (track 6), acoustic guitar, Casio (track 7); drums (track 6)
- Jim Pollard – bass, guitar (track 6); casio (tracks 1, 4)
- Mitch Mitchell – bass (tracks 9, 12, 13, 20), guitar (track 18)
- Kevin Fennell – drums (tracks 8, 15, 18)
- Joe Buben – drums (tracks 2)
- John Shough a.k.a. Johnny Strange – bass (tracks 2, 14, 15), programming (tracks 2, 14)
- Chad Stanisic – organ (track 5)