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Sandbox
Studio album by Guided by Voices
Released	September 1, 1987 (1987-09-01)
Recorded	Mid-1987
Studio	Steve Wilbur's 8 Track Garage, Dayton, Ohio, US
Genre	Indie rock
Length	27:11
Language	English
Label	Halo
Producer	Guided by Voices (Kevin Fennell, Mitch Mitchell, Jim Pollard, and Robert Pollard) Steve Wilbur
Guided by Voices chronology
Devil Between My Toes (1987) Sandbox (1987) Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia (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

References

1. Egan, Brian (n.d.). "Guided by Voices – Sandbox". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
2. Coley, Byron (January 1989). "Underground". Spin. Vol. 4, no. 10. p. 80. ISSN 0886-3032.
3. Marks, Craig; Weisbard, Eric, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 171. ISBN 9780679755746.
4. Sprague, David (May 1995). "Guided by Voices Extraterrestrial Angst". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 21. p. 19. ISSN 1074-6978.
5. Greer, James (December 2007). Guided by Voices: A Brief History. Grove Atlantic. ISBN 9781555846411.

External links

• Entry in the Guided by Voices Database
• Sandbox at Discogs (list of releases)
• Sandbox at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Review from the Rock Robot's Guide to Guided by Voices

• 1987 albums
• Guided by Voices albums