Mirrored Aztec by Guided By Voices [6/10]

I sigh whenever I spot another album from Robert Pollard, solo or from his multitudinous bands. Should I listen or should I shrug? It’s impossible to keep up and in any case, listening to them all debases the better ones. A new release from the classic GBV, though, that has to be grabbed and savored. What then of “Mirrored Aztec“? Eighteen of-the-moment, lasting-only-a-moment riffy delights, amazingly upbeat for a band so prolific (this is Number 31!). My feet tapped and on the second track, all of two minutes, “Bunco Man,” I punched an arm in the air, just as I did all those years ago when Guided By Voices made a rare excursion to Australia. “To Keep An Area” is a plodding, strummed song that only Pollard could write and sing. An oddly tuned guitar signature launches “Thank You Jane,” a glorious confection (three minutes long, a rarity). “Haircut Sphinx” lurches and groans as if 1969 were next year. You get the picture … Mirrored Aztec is a gorgeous splurge of music love. And did I mention the fabulous psychedelic album cover? Recommended.