''Strut of Kings'' is the fortieth studio album by American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Guided by Voices Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...

, released on June 28, 2024, through Rockathon Records and their own Guided by Voices, Inc. label. It has received positive reviews from critics and was preceded by the singles "Serene King" and "Cavemen Running Naked".

Reception

Editors at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that the songwriting displays

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the frontman and leader of indie rock band Guided by Voices, which he also the band’s only constant member. In addition to this, he has also rele ...

's interest in

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

"with stately melodies, big guitars, arrangements that make the most of dynamics, and drumming that milks the drama for all its worth". At ''

BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...

'', Bill Pearis stated that this album continues the band's hot streak since reforming in 2017 and that this album has "indie rock earworms" and "gloriously titled fist-pumpers". ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''s Daniel Sylvester scored ''Strut of Kings'' a 6 out of 10, critiquing that songs are stretched too thin with filler, but continued that "the core of many of these numbers are incredibly strong and tight". This was album of the week at ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...

'', where Nathan Whittle gave it 4 out of 5 and wrote that this music has the "ability to turn on a sixpence, to jump from their earlier alt/rock spark to moments that breath with more space and drop down into plaintive spaces that keeps your ear to their furtile ground". Stevie Chick of ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' gave this album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "Pollard sounds more curious and engaged here than on some recent releases, and the result is the most compelling GBV of their third act". Online retailer

Qobuz Qobuz (, commonly mispronounced: ), often stylized as qobuz) is a French digital music store and streaming service, launched in 2007 by Alexandre Leforestier and Yves Riesel. Qobuz is now owned by Xandrie SA. In June 2023, Qobuz offers over 100 ...

included this among the five best rock albums of the month, stating that it "is packed with anthems-in-waiting replete with big, hooky choruses and powerful, crunching guitars". In '' Uncut'', Daniel Wray called this album "a pleasing yet ever-shifting journey to be taken on" and scored it an 8 out of 10.

Track listing

All tracks are written by

. #"Show Me the Castle" – 4:25 #"Dear Onion" – 1:47 #"This Will Go On" – 2:09 #"Fictional Environment Dream" – 3:55 #"Olympus Cock in Radiana" – 2:50 #"Leaving Umbrella" – 3:36 #"Cavemen Running Naked" – 2:22 #"Timing Voice" – 3:32 #"Bit of a Crunch" – 4:42 #"Serene King" – 3:14 #"Bicycle Garden" – 3:07

Personnel

Guided by Voices * Bobby Bare Jr. – guitar *

Doug Gillard Douglas Scott Gillard (born December 23, 1965) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has been a member of major indie pop and punk bands, most notably Guided by Voices, Nada Surf, Bambi Kino, Death of Samantha, and Cobra Verde. Early ...

– guitar, string

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

* Kevin March – drums *

– lead vocals, guitar, artwork,

layout In general terms, a layout is a structured arrangement of items within certain limits, or a plan for such arrangement. Specifically, layout may refer to: * Page layout, the arrangement of visual elements on a page ** Comprehensive layout (comp), ...

, art department *Mark Shue – bass guitar Additional personnel *Travis Harrison –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

*Ray Ketchem – drum recording *Joe Patterson – layout, art department *Vince Williams – art department *Sarah Zade-Pollard – art management

References

External links

Entry in the Guided by Voices Database
* * {{Authority control 2024 albums Guided by Voices albums Progressive rock albums by American artists Power pop albums by American artists Self-released albums

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

See also

References

External links