Nowhere to Go but Up

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Nowhere to Go but Up
A photo of a teen who has just thrown a shotput and is surrounded by onlookers
Studio album by
Guided by Voices
ReleasedNovember 24, 2023 (2023-11-24)
GenreIndie rock[1]
Length38:43
LabelGuided by Voices, Inc.
Guided by Voices chronology
Welshpool Frillies
(2023) 		Nowhere to Go but Up
(2023) 		Strut of Kings
(2024)
Singles from Nowhere to Go but Up
  1. "For the Home"
    Released: October 11, 2023[2]
  2. "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead"
    Released: October 31, 2023[3]

Nowhere to Go but Up is the thirty-ninth studio album by American indie rock band Guided by Voices, released on November 24, 2023 through their own Guided by Voices, Inc. label. It has received positive reviews from critics and was preceded by the singles "For the Home" and "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead".

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Paste9.0/10[5]

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Fred Thomas writing that this album "stands apart from the two records that preceded it by months as much as it carves out a new space for itself in the lengthy GbV saga that's been mutating since the early '80s" and continuing that by "the end, Nowhere to Go but Up grows more compositionally adventurous, but saves some catchiness for even its most complexly mapped songs".[4] At BrooklynVegan, Bill Pearis chose this for Album of the Week, stating that Nowhere to Go but Up "finds the band wildly ambitious and totally up to the challenge" and shows that the band has yet to peak[6] and it was also shortlisted for one of the best albums of November 2023.[7] Editors at Paste chose this for album of the week and critic Pat King rated it a 9.0 out of 10 for being part of "the absolutely unprecedented winning streak Pollard and the current version of Guided by Voices have been on" and stating that this is an "essential" entry in the band's discography, ending "there really is no precedent for a band like Guided by Voices, or an artistic visionary like Robert Pollard".[5] It was also shortlisted for one of the ten best albums of November 2023.[8] Editors at Pitchfork included this in a short list of albums to listen to for the week.[9] Grant Sharples of Uproxx included this among the best indie music of the week, calling their 2023's studio albums a hat trick and looking forward to future releases by the band.[10]

Paste included this among the 30 best rock albums of 2023.[11] This was included in the 40 best independent albums of 2023 in BrooklynVegan's Indie Basement[12] and the site's listing of 33 great albums from indie/alternative legends, along with La La Land.[13]

Track listing

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All songs written by Robert Pollard.

  1. "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead" – 3:30
  2. "Puncher's Parade" – 3:53
  3. "Local Master Airplane" – 2:16
  4. "How Did He Get Up There" – 4:03
  5. "Stabbing at Fractions" – 2:48
  6. "Love Set" – 3:54
  7. "We're Going the Wrong Way In" – 2:31
  8. "Jack of Legs" – 3:37
  9. "For the Home" – 4:38
  10. "Cruel for Rats" – 3:03
  11. "Song and Dance" – 4:31

Personnel

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Guided by Voices

Additional personnel

  • Travis Harrison – production, back cover photography
  • Terri Nelles – photography
  • Joe Patterson – layout
  • Vince Williams – art direction
  • Sarah Zade-Pollard – art direction

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Weekly Releases 11.24.2023". News. Sputnikmusic. November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Pearis, Bill (October 11, 2023). "Guided by Voices announce 3rd album of 2023, Nowhere to Go but Up - hear "For the Home"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Rettig, James (October 31, 2023). "Guided by Voices – "The Race Is On, the King Is Dead"". New Music. Stereogum. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Thomas, Fred (n.d.). "Guided by Voices – Nowhere to Go but Up". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  5. ^ a b King, Pat (November 22, 2023). "Guided By Voices: 'Nowhere To Go But Up'". Music > Reviews > Guided by Voices. Paste. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  6. ^ Pearis, Bill (December 1, 2023). "Album reviews: Guided by Voices, Harp (ex-Midlake), more". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Pearis, Bill (December 1, 2023). "Indie Basement: Best Songs & Albums of November 2023". Indie Basement. BrooklynVegan. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  8. ^ "The Best Albums of November 2023". Music > Lists > Best Albums. Paste. December 2, 2023. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  9. ^ Minsker, Evan; Monroe, Jazz (November 24, 2023). "9 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Kamaiyah, Guided by Voices, and More". News. Pitchfork. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Sharples, Grant (November 28, 2023). "All The Best New Indie Music From This Week". Indie Mixtape. Uproxx. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  11. ^ "The 30 Best Rock Albums of 2023". Music > Lists > Best Albums. Paste. December 10, 2023. ISSN 1540-3106. Retrieved December 10, 2023.
  12. ^ Pearis, Bill (December 21, 2023). "Indie Basement: Top 40 Albums of 2023". Indie Basement. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  13. ^ Pearis, Bill; Sacher, Andrew (December 27, 2023). "33 great 2023 albums from indie / alternative legends". Retrieved December 27, 2023.
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