Band Motto: "We Drink"

The club is open, but not for much longer. Guided by Voices' 257th album has been billed as the ballyhooed final installment in the Ohio legends' colossal oeuvre, and it's all on display for the last go-around: Robert Pollard's endearingly Brit-affected vocals and ongoing lyrical fascination with kings of yore; zany, lengthy song titles; and, most importantly, one or two requisite, catchier-than-syphilis classics. But--and isn't there almost always one with a GBV album?--there's a workmanlike feeling running through Half Smiles of the Decomposed, the probable effect of Pollard's ultraprolific songwriting jones. And while the world would be wise to raise a Bud tall boy in honor of Pollard's career of tunesmithery, it's tough to disagree with his decision to pull the GBV plug after 20-odd years, given Half Smiles' glut of unsticky songs.