''Isolation Drills'' is the 12th studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band Guided by Voices. It was their second and final LP released under

TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...

and their second to feature a major rock producer in

Rob Schnapf Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer (along with Tom Rothrock) of Elliott Smith's albums ''Either/Or'', '' XO'' (on which he also played guitar on the song " Baby Britain"), ''Figure 8'' and ''From a ...

. The album was also their first to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at number 168. The album notably features instrumental contributions from Elliott Smith and

David Sulzer David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interac ...

. Previous longtime band member Tobin Sprout also returned as a guest and contributed with playing piano. While Jim MacPherson plays drums on the album, his replacement Jon McCann is featured in the cover photos, as MacPherson had left the band immediately after the recording to focus on his home life.

Reception

''Isolation Drills'' is currently the highest rating album on the aggregate review website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

of their submitted studio albums.

Accolades

"Glad Girls" was nominated for the ''

High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exha ...

'' "Pot Song of the Year" award. "Chasing Heather Crazy" was named the 319th best song of the decade by ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

''. In 2014, the album was ranked number 92 on ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' list of the Best Albums of the '00s.

Appearance in popular culture

* "Skills Like This" was featured on the ''ESPN Ultimate X Soundtrack'' compilation album.

Track listing

All songs written 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 ...

. #"Fair Touching" – 3:07 #"Skills Like This" – 2:47 #"Chasing Heather Crazy" – 2:53 #"Frostman" – 0:55 #"Twilight Campfighter" – 3:07 #"Sister I Need Wine" – 1:40 #"Want One?" – 1:48 #"The Enemy" – 4:53 #"Unspirited" – 2:25 #"Glad Girls" – 3:49 #"Run Wild" – 3:48 #"Pivotal Film" – 3:10 #"How's My Drinking?" – 2:38 #"The Brides Have Hit Glass" – 2:51 #"Fine to See You" – 3:16 #"Privately" – 4:05

Title

The opening of "The Enemy" is an excerpt of "Broadcastor House," a track from the 1994 ''

Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer ''Clown Prince of the Menthol Trailer'' is a 1994 EP by Guided by Voices. The song Matter Eater Lad is based on the superhero within the DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American ...

'' EP, which may come from the fact that "Broadcastor House" was the initial working title of the album.

Personnel

Guided by Voices

– lead vocals, guitar *

Doug Gillard Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde. Early ...

– lead guitar * Nate Farley – rhythm guitar * Tim Tobias – bass *

Jim Macpherson The Breeders are an American alternative rock band based in Dayton, Ohio, consisting of members Kim Deal (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), her twin sister Kelley Deal (lead guitar, vocals), Josephine Wiggs (bass guitar, vocals) and Jim Macpherson ...

– drums

Additional musicians

David Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interac ...

– string arrangements, violin *

Tobin Sprout Tobin Sprout (born April 28, 1955) is an American visual artist, musician, songwriter, and children's author. He is best known as a former member of the indie rock band Guided by Voices. He served as a secondary major songwriter and guitarist o ...

– piano * Elliott Smith – piano * Marlene Rice – violin

Technical

* Rob Schnapf – mixing, producer *Doug Boehm – engineer, mixing * Julian Joyce – mixing * John Shough – engineer * Greg Di Gesu – assistant engineer * Don Tyler – mastering

References

{{Authority control Guided by Voices albums 2001 albums Albums produced by Rob Schnapf