2008 Woodie Awards
WRMC 91.1 FM
On Rotation
BENJAMIN GOLZE
Issue date: 3/16/06 Section: Arts
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Built to Spill
"You in Reverse" Preview
Release: Aprill 11, 2006
I toyed with this topic for a while, mostly about whether to write it now or in April. But in the end I decided that I was just way too excited to sit on it until April 11. To what am I referring, dear reader? Why, to Built to Spill's upcoming record "You in Reverse," which is set to hit stores on the aforementioned date.
Much like with Modest Mouse's last record, which was released at about the same time two years ago, I fully anticipate this album to dominate my summer listening schedule. All of this is not baseless speculation, of course - the band recently dropped a new single on iTunes and features another new song on their MySpace page.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Built to Spill is not exactly a household name in the broadest sense, though as far as I can tell they are one of the most important bands in the Northwest indie scene. I use the region rather loosely to include Boise, Idaho, but I doubt that will bother many people. "You in Reverse" will be their sixth studio album, and fourth for Warner Bros. records.
In any event, Built to Spill's music has been referred to as "freewheeling" and "energetic" by people polled at Allmusic.com, and I tend to agree. Doug Martsch, the band's vocalist, lead guitarist and primary songwriter, manages to craft music that runs on the very edge of jamming - his tight craftsmanship and propensity for pop hooks keep the songs from spilling into blah jam band territory. That only really holds true for their studio work, however.
In concert, they let loose into unpredictable shoe-gaze rock (meaning they play looking down at the smorgasbord of distortion pedals at their feet). For example, their cover of Neil Young's live show mainstay "Cortez the Killer" runs over twenty minutes long on their album "Live." Nevertheless, even though many of their songs fall into the six- to eight-minute range, they are earnestly engaging.
"You in Reverse" Preview
Release: Aprill 11, 2006
I toyed with this topic for a while, mostly about whether to write it now or in April. But in the end I decided that I was just way too excited to sit on it until April 11. To what am I referring, dear reader? Why, to Built to Spill's upcoming record "You in Reverse," which is set to hit stores on the aforementioned date.
Much like with Modest Mouse's last record, which was released at about the same time two years ago, I fully anticipate this album to dominate my summer listening schedule. All of this is not baseless speculation, of course - the band recently dropped a new single on iTunes and features another new song on their MySpace page.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Built to Spill is not exactly a household name in the broadest sense, though as far as I can tell they are one of the most important bands in the Northwest indie scene. I use the region rather loosely to include Boise, Idaho, but I doubt that will bother many people. "You in Reverse" will be their sixth studio album, and fourth for Warner Bros. records.
In any event, Built to Spill's music has been referred to as "freewheeling" and "energetic" by people polled at Allmusic.com, and I tend to agree. Doug Martsch, the band's vocalist, lead guitarist and primary songwriter, manages to craft music that runs on the very edge of jamming - his tight craftsmanship and propensity for pop hooks keep the songs from spilling into blah jam band territory. That only really holds true for their studio work, however.
In concert, they let loose into unpredictable shoe-gaze rock (meaning they play looking down at the smorgasbord of distortion pedals at their feet). For example, their cover of Neil Young's live show mainstay "Cortez the Killer" runs over twenty minutes long on their album "Live." Nevertheless, even though many of their songs fall into the six- to eight-minute range, they are earnestly engaging.