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Admittedly, that album did have its gems - "My Kind of Soldier" and "The Best of Jill Hives" were instant mix-CD shoe-ins - but as a whole, Earthquake Glue (ironically) just didn't hold together all that well.
Pollard, a former school teacher now in his 50s, alternately eschewed and chased after mainstream success during Guided By Voices' storied career, but it just wasn't in the cards for the band.
So the insanely-prolific songwriter - and now sole remaining original member - declared that when he had written a batch of tunes he considered strong enough to compopse a farewell, the group would call it quits.
In Pollard's estimation, Half Smiles is that album. Thankfully, he's not off the mark on this one. First MP3 single "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)," on which GBV deploy the strummy distorted guitars and infectious pop-rock chorus that devotees know and love, was a good indication what lay within.
"Tour Guide at the Winston Churchill Memorial" is another standout, with a gently-insistent, pretty hook that's fueled by electric arpeggios and warm keyboards. But if there's one true classic here, it's the Who-meets-Tom-Petty "Girls of Wild Strawberries," two-and-a-half minutes of stomping drums, upbeat acoustics, and interlacing guitar leads.
A few of Pollard's folky musings were interspersed throughout GBV's solid 2002 release, Universal Truths and Cycles, but Half Smiles' first half is entirely dominated by acoustic guitars. This addition to the group's sound helps to fill out the driving verses of straight-ahead rocker "Gonna Never Have to Die" and makes the dissonant "Sleep Over Jack" even more of a charming oddity than it already is.
Also helping out are an abundance of other instruments that crop up on those tracks - from the buzzy synths of the former to the flutes that close out the latter - and others throughout Half Smiles.
If Pollard hadn't decided it was time to for his beloved band to ride off into the sunset, this batch of songs indicate there was a promising new direction to be explored - one the singer will most likely developer further on his solo outings. You've got to give GBV credit for not just turning out a retread of past glories, but continuing to stretch the boundaries of their sound.
Also of note is the fact that many of Half Smiles' stronger tunes have been liberally interspersed throughout set lists on the group's ongoing farewell tour. Whether or not their newest offering is as affectionately received as fan favorites like Alien Lanes, Pollard has always kept the focus on the sounds his collective is currently exploring.
By refusing to turn GBV into any kind of nostalgia act, he's kept the band's music fresh and current even as other indie rockers have come and gone over the years.
If there's one clear misstep on Half Smiles, it would probably be the mini-epic "(S)Mothering and Coaching," which alternates between ambient verses and dark, heavy choruses. It's solid enough musically, but generally lacking the charm of cuts like the bouncy, classic-styled "Asphyxiated Circle."
As a whole, though, Half Smiles of the Decomposed is a very strong group of songs, and a fine note for Guided By Voices to go out on.
Still, during "Huffman Prairie Flying Field" - a solid closer awash in layers of the shimmering guitars that have driven the band for many year - it's hard not get a little choked up. As Pollard intones repeatedly at the conclusion, "For far too long," you can't help but feel it just hasn't been long enough.
