by Brian Christopher Egan
Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia is the first Guided by Voices album to sound like a Guided by Voices album. For the first time, the band can be heard using low-fi production to their advantage, such as on the opening track, &The Future Is in Eggs,& on which Pollard's vocals are blurred like a distorted instrument to complement the track's bleary mood. The improvement in Pollard's melodies here is revelatory, and he and the band move beyond their influences, crafting a blueprint of the signature sound that they would develop to increasingly greater success throughout much of the following decade. Highlights include &The Great Blake St. Canoe Race,& the melancholy, harmony-laden &Paper Girl& and the tremolo-heavy ballad, &Liar's Tale.&