Indie Rock Icons Guided By Voices Break Up... Again

Veteran midwest indie-rock outfit Guided By Voices have unceremoniously announced their (second) split, posting on social media and their website this morning (AEST) to inform fans the band would not be continuing.

The news came as something of a shock, given the band's current (well, until this morning) status as being mid-tour, having played their last show less than a week ago before posting the farewell notice without warning.

"Guided By Voices has come to an end," the band wrote bluntly on Facebook, explaining that all future scheduled shows — about two months' worth at the time of the post — would be cancelled, and apologising for the inconvenience.

The band got their start way back in 1983, going on to become one of the most influential underground acts of the midwest in the early stages of their career and being lauded by contemporaries in bands such as Sonic Youth and R.E.M.. They released 22 full-length albums over the ensuing years, despite a six-year hiatus between 2004 and 2010 — and as a testament to their ongoing prolificness and vitality, five of those have come in the past two years, the most recent being this year's Motivational Jumpsuit and Cool Planet LPs. 

There's a wealth of material for us to remember the band by, so take heart in the generous back catalogue and join us in saluting and sending off the long-serving indie rock progenitors with respect.