''Ataxia'' is the sixth studio album released by alternative / psychedelic-rock band
Circus Devils
Circus Devils is an American art rock band founded in 2001 by Robert Pollard, best known as the lead singer and songwriter of the Dayton, Ohio, band Guided by Voices. The band consists of Pollard (vocals and lyrics), Todd Tobias (music and produ ...
on October 31, 2008. All songs on Ataxia were written and performed by
Robert Pollard
Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prol ...
,
Todd Tobias
Todd Tobias (born 1967) is an American multi-instrumentalist and record producer, best known for his work with Robert Pollard and his band Guided by Voices. Other projects include Circus Devils, Kramies, The Library Is On Fire, and musical thea ...
, and Tim Tobias.
Reaction
"The music jumps from dark crawlspace paranoia to sexy swaggering rock to postpunk jerky new wave to ethereal planes of exultation, all within matters of seconds. One moment you’re bobbing your head and the next moment you’re terrified, asking yourself, “What’s going on here? This is scaring me.” And though Circus Devils have always followed whatever crooked and strange or delicately beautiful paths they’ve chosen, their records have gotten consistently more and more intricate, refined, bold, and solid, ''Ataxia'' being their most dynamic and strange offering as of yet."
- ''Steve Five'' fo
Skyscraper Magazine(issue #29)
"The determinedly annoying Circus Devils' sixth album finds Robert Pollard sounding like a peyote-visionary lumberjack who has wandered into a rehearsal by a 1970s progressive-rock band, then edited the giant jams down into exhilarating two-minute slivers. ''Ataxia'' is Yes’s Tales From Topographic Oceans remade in miniature from pottery fragments and human toenail clippings."
-- ''
Stewart Lee
Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Lee b ...
'' for ''
The London Sunday Times''.
"The overall tone of ''Ataxia'' is almost Gothic in its dark mystique. Songs seem to bubble up amidst a cauldron of haunting, atmospheric sounds. "Get Me Extra!," for example, emerges from an uneasy haze of feedback, while opener "Under Review" has to battle a morose drone in order to attain footing. This makes for an intriguing album that is more than a set of songs, but instead a continuing story; this, in turn, frames the record's better songs nicely."
Indieville.com
Track listing
# "Under Review"
# "I Razors"
# "Freedom's Monster"
# "That's the Spirit" (inst.)
# "Backwash Television"
# "The Girls Will Make It Happen"
# "Mayflower Brought Disease"
# "Stars, Stripes and Crack Pipes"
# "Ataxia" (inst.)
# "Nets at Every Angle"
# "Hi, I'm Martha. How are you?"
# "Lunatic Style"
# "Get Me Extra!"
# "I Found the Black Mind"
# "He Had All Day"
# "Fuzz in the Street"
# "Rat Faced Ballerina"
References
External links
the Official Circus Devils site*
Circus Devils at allmusic.com
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Circus Devils albums
2008 albums