BIOGRAPHY
Guided by Voices formed in Dayton, Ohio in 1983, built around the songwriting of Robert Pollard, its only constant member. While working as a grade-school teacher, Pollard wrote and recorded songs at night and on weekends, self-releasing six albums between 1986 and 1992 on cheap four-track tape decks. The band drew on post-British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, prog, punk and post-punk, favoring songs often under two minutes that end abruptly or are stitched with homemade sound effects. 1994's Bee Thousand became their breakthrough, hyped by Spin and Rolling Stone, and Pollard soon quit teaching. By 1999 the band had moved to TVT Records and begun working with name producers, resulting in the hi-fi 2001 album Isolation Drills. The band has continued releasing new material into 2025 and 2026.