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Author: BENJAMIN GOLZE

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.

That much is true of the first single from the new album. The song is titled "Goin' Against Your Mind" and runs over eight minutes. (Request it at WRMC: it's a great song and will give the DJ time to go to the bathroom). Longtime fans will find it immediately reminiscent of "Perfect From Now On," their first major label album. In that sense, it is a thankful reprieve from their underwhelming last album "Ancient Melodies of the Distant Future." Although complex overall, the guitars - always the focus of Built to Spill music - stand out above everything else.

However, this song is even a bit of a departure from the band's midlife albums. According to their Web site, Built to Spill has been trying to capture a live, impromptu sound in their music. Gone are the overdubs that Martsch has relied on for so long and, as a result, the raging guitar solos that make up most of the rest of the song sound much more raw.

The other song, available on MySpace and called "Conventional Wisdom," also captures that live sound, yet encloses it in a much tighter song structure. It is also much more upbeat, which makes it closer in tone to Built to Spill's 1994 album "There's Nothing Wrong With Love," a collection of much shorter pop songs. The song kicks off with a main theme that's immediately catchy. And when the song segues into a slower, sprawling solo at the end, it doesn't feel out of place at all. Classic Built to Spill.

"You in Reverse" is going to knock your socks off in April. And that's science.