Sandbox (Guided by Voices album)

Sandbox is the second studio album from American indie rock band Guided by Voices.

Sandbox
A photo of the band seated on the ground in a graveyard
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1987 (1987-09-01)
RecordedMid-1987
StudioSteve Wilbur's 8 Track Garage, Dayton, Ohio, US
GenreIndie rock
Length27:11
LanguageEnglish
LabelHalo
Producer
Guided by Voices chronology
Devil Between My Toes
(1987)
Sandbox
(1987)
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
(1989)

Reception

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Editors at AllMusic rated this album 2 out of 5 stars, with critic Brian Egan writing that the band "took a short step back" from their previous album and that the songs "ultimately fail to register".[1] Byron Coley of Spin pointed to the work on Sandbox to declare that Guided by Voices is "one of the sharpest sounding angle-pop bands out of the Midwest since the days of Green".[2] In that publication's 1995 album guide, they rated Sandbox a 1 out of 5, stating that the band deviated from their lo-fi music roots after performing with R.E.M.[3]

In 1995, frontman Robert Pollard called this album "an attempt to make a huge power-pop record for less than a thousand dollars." Meanwhile, journalist David Sprague reported that this album was painful for him to listen to.[4]

Track listing

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  1. "Lips of Steel" (Kevin Fennell, Mitch Mitchell, and Jim Pollard) – 1:34
  2. "A Visit to the Creep Doctor" (Robert Pollard) – 1:30
  3. "Everyday" (R. Pollard) – 2:58
  4. "Barricade" (R. Pollard) – 4:32
  5. "Get to Know the Ropes" (R. Pollard) – 3:48
  6. "Can't Stop" (J. Pollard, R. Pollard) – 2:26
  7. "The Drinking Jim Crow" (R. Pollard) – 1:36
  8. "Trap Soul Door" (Mitchell and R. Pollard) – 1:15
  9. "Common Rebels" (Fennell, Mitchell, and J. Pollard) – 2:04
  10. "Long Distance Man" (R. Pollard) – 1:17
  11. "I Certainly Hope Not" (R. Pollard) – 2:01
  12. "Adverse Wind" (R. Pollard) – 2:09

Personnel

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Guided by Voices

Additional personnel

  • Mark Greenwald – artwork[5]
  • Alan Moy – mastering at Masterdisk
  • Steve Wilbur – guitar on "Barricade" and "Can't Stop", production

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Egan, Brian (n.d.). "Guided by Voices – Sandbox". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Coley, Byron (January 1989). "Underground". Spin. Vol. 4, no. 10. p. 80. ISSN 0886-3032.
  3. ^ Marks, Craig; Weisbard, Eric, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 171. ISBN 9780679755746.
  4. ^ Sprague, David (May 1995). "Guided by Voices Extraterrestrial Angst". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 21. p. 19. ISSN 1074-6978.
  5. ^ Greer, James (December 2007). Guided by Voices: A Brief History. Grove Atlantic. ISBN 9781555846411.
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