Guided By Voices - The Grand Hour (1992)

The first Guided By Voices release after being signed to Scat Records, the Grand Hour is a short, ragged mess most noteworthy for its inclusion of the fantastic lo-fi rocker "Shocker in Gloomtown." Though only about 90 seconds in length, "Shocker" became a GBV concert staple and was covered by fellow Dayton natives the Breeders on their Head to Toe EP. The other five songs are indicative of other Guided By Voices material from this era: unfinished pop melodies buried in hiss and disjointed noise. "I'll Get Over It" and the Tobin Sprout contribution "Off the Floor" have the most promising melodies, but each clocks in at less then a minute in length. The other notable achievements here are the closer, "Bee Thousand," which may be Guided By Voices' silliest moment and "Break Even" which captures Robert Pollard's heavy garage rock influences.