Sandbox (Guided by Voices album) explained

Sandbox
Type:	studio
Artist:	Guided by Voices
Cover:	Guided by Voices - Sandbox.jpg
Alt:	A photo of the band seated on the ground in a graveyard
Recorded:	Mid-1987
Studio:	Steve Wilbur's 8 Track Garage, Dayton, Ohio, US
Genre:	Indie rock
Language:	English
Label:	Halo
Producer:	Guided by Voices (Kevin Fennell, Mitch Mitchell, Jim Pollard, and Robert Pollard) Steve Wilbur
Prev Title:	Devil Between My Toes
Prev Year:	1987
Next Title:	Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia
Next Year:	1989

Sandbox is the second studio album from American indie rock band Guided by Voices.

Reception

Editors at AllMusic rated this album 2 out of 5 stars, with critic Brian Egan writing that the band "took a short step back" from their previous album and that the songs "ultimately fail to register". Byron Coley of Spin pointed to the work on Sandbox to declare that Guided by Voices is "one of the sharpest sounding angle-pop bands out of the Midwest since the days of Green". In that publication's 1995 album guide, they rated Sandbox a 1 out of 5, stating that the band deviated from their lo-fi music roots after performing with R.E.M.

In 1995, frontman Robert Pollard called this album "an attempt to make a huge power-pop record for less than a thousand dollars." Meanwhile, journalist David Sprague reported that this album was painful for him to listen to.

Track listing

1. "Lips of Steel" (Kevin Fennell, Mitch Mitchell, and Jim Pollard) – 1:34
2. "A Visit to the Creep Doctor" (Robert Pollard) – 1:30
3. "Everyday" (R. Pollard) – 2:58
4. "Barricade" (R. Pollard) – 4:32
5. "Get to Know the Ropes" (R. Pollard) – 3:48
6. "Can't Stop" (J. Pollard, R. Pollard) – 2:26
7. "The Drinking Jim Crow" (R. Pollard) – 1:36
8. "Trap Soul Door" (Mitchell and R. Pollard) – 1:15
9. "Common Rebels" (Fennell, Mitchell, and J. Pollard) – 2:04
10. "Long Distance Man" (R. Pollard) – 1:17
11. "I Certainly Hope Not" (R. Pollard) – 2:01
12. "Adverse Wind" (R. Pollard) – 2:09

Personnel

Guided by Voices

• Kevin Fennell – drums, production
• Mitch Mitchell – bass guitar, production
• Jim Pollard – guitar, production
• Robert Pollard – guitar, vocals, production

Additional personnel

• Mark Greenwald – artwork
• Alan Moy – mastering at Masterdisk
• Steve Wilbur – guitar on "Barricade" and "Can't Stop", production

See also

• List of 1987 albums

External links

• Entry in the Guided by Voices Database
  • • Review from the Rock Robot's Guide to Guided by Voices