GBV's last album Isolation Drills was my favorite album of 2001, so when I learned that they were releasing another album so quickly on it's heals (especially one with 20 tracks) I was afraid they'd spread themselves too thin. After my first few spins I figured I was right--but I'm happy to say that, now that it's all settled in, Universal Truth's and Cycles is far from disappointing. True there are a few tracks that sound like quirky B-sides that probably could have been left out, but for the most part this is more really good stuff.
Isolation Drills was one of those masterfully constructed albums that flowed together so seamlessly that the end of one song seemed like the beginning of the next. This is something that Universal Truths lacks--it's far more scattershot and has little of the cohesion of it's predecessor. But overall it has just about as many fantastic songs. Singer and songwriter Robert Pollard has long been the darling of music critics and this album is something of a return to the imaginative free form style that had them raving. In fact Isolation Drills was knocked by alot of critics as being to polished and commercial, and perhaps Universal Truths is Pollards response. Whatever the case this new release by one of our great bands has plenty to recommend to fans both past and present.