When Idaho’s Built to Spill released their live album last year it was clear that they were summarizing their career as the penultimate indie-rock guitar jam band, complete with an epic cover of Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer.” It was logical that it would be a set-up for a transition. 1999’s Keep It Like A Secret perfected their mastery of meandering tunes with majestic solos.
On their fifth album, guitarist/songwriter Doug Martsch focuses on the kernals of what had driven them all along — the melodies. As the album title suggests, if Built To Spill wants to remain relevant in the 21st century, they must evolve. Ancient Melodies comes across shiny and fresh as a newly minted coin. The guitar solos are trimmed to a bare minimum, just enough to get the point across and move on. Rather than relying on eclecticism to give the illusion of being larger than the sum of its parts like Modest Mouse, they have opted to distill their sound to the bare essence. That’s not to say the songs are samey, but they are unmistakably Built To Spill’s, betraying no discernable influences. Every song follows through on a singular idea rather than jumping around with changes and transitions, not unlike, dare I say it, The Beatles’ White Album. “Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss” is a ridiculously bouncy jaunt. The album wraps up with the love koan of “The Weather” — “…and the stars gravitate toward you.” Pure pop for future hipsters.
September 17, 2025
Chameleons – Arctic Moon (Metropolis)
September 1, 2025
Lathe of Heaven – Aurora (Sacred Bones)
