After a fantastic run of critical successes in the 1990s, Idaho indie-rockers Built to Spill’s most recent two albums Ancient Melodies of the Future(2001) and You in Reverse (2006) fell flat in comparison.
The momentum built up with their debut Ultimate Alternative Wavers (1993) through to their move to a major label Warner Bros and the albums Perfect From Now On (1997) and Keep It Like A Secret (1999), appeared to have come to an end. Questions were being asked. Had Built to Spill peaked?
Thankfully that slide has been well and truly halted by their excellent seventh album There Is No Enemy.
On the face of it the sound is similar to Ancient Melodies of the Future and You in Reverse. The multi-layers of guitars, the quirky chords, the vocals from founder Doug Matsch that stay on the right side of indie-whining, are still there. But with There Is No Enemy there is a warmth that Ancient Melodies of the Future and You in Reverse lacked. There Is No Enemy is somehow less abrasive, the guitars are still layered, but more lush.
From first track ‘Aisle 13’ through to seventh track ‘Pat’ There Is No Enemy is near perfect. ‘Aisle 13’ offers guitar layer after guitar layer, from wailing solo to chugging power chord. Second track ‘Hindsight’ takes the temp down a notch and the guitars become increasingly lush, almost twinkly.
Third track ‘Nowhere Lullaby’ changes tact again, far slower, with tremelo guitar perfectly matching lead singer and founder Doug Matsch’s vocals. It’s more like Flaming Lips than Built To Spill. ‘Good Ol Boredom’, a standout track among these standout tracks comes next. At 6min 31secs its among the longest, but you still don’t want it to end with its George Harrison-esque guitar throughout. Uplifting stuff.
Sixth track ‘Life’s a Dream’ is another solid song and among the slowest. On the next track ‘Oh Yeah’ the Dinosaur Jr style influence comes to the fore, with screaming solos, before seventh track ‘Pat’, a classic power pop number harking back to their earlier days.
It is unfortunate that things get a bit flabby on the three tracks to follow, ‘Done’, ‘Planting Seeds’ and ‘Things Fall Apart’. All are fairly unremarkable, lacking the hooks and riffs of the first half of the album, a bit like Ancient Melodies of the Future and You In Reverse. Final track ‘Tomorrow,’ makes amends though. Mind you, it takes a good two of its 7mins 40 secs to get going, but once it does it’s a beauty.
There Is No Enemy marks a very welcome return to form for a band whose indie rock-istocracy crown had begun to wobble. It is also a fine introduction to Built To Spill for those unfamiliar with them and will definitely please those that loved 1990s albums such as Keep It Like A Secret.
8.5/10
by Joe Lepper, Oct 2009
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