Built to Spill, the ever-unchanging lineup of Doug Martsch, Brett Nelson, and Scott Plouf, is a staple of 90′s music nostalgia. Their dreamy guitar-plucking and Martsch’s unassumingly simple lyrics have come to symbolize for many listeners, including myself, a time long gone. But after a string of untouchable records in the 90′s, the oughties brought a lull in which BTS fans only heard a few jam-heavy records that hid the occasional gem. But here, the silence is broken, the hazy and wandering guitar solos are rolled aside, and Martsch and Co. deliver There Is No Enemy, a proper BTS album that will be counted among their best.
Built to Spill – Hindsight
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You see, the brilliant thing is that There Is No Enemy sounds just like the rest of Built to Spill’s catalog. The warm fuzzy production is there, the man-child behind the microphone is present and accounted for, and the guitars still drive the sound from cover to cover. But there is a sense of presence, a strange purpose to the sound, that separates There Is No Enemy from the band’s work so far. The first single from the album, “Hindsight,” has a guitar hook that sounds like nothing on the first 7 albums, something new and refreshing against the warm and familiar BTS background. The “Ooooo La La La’s” of “Life’s a Dream” are a surprising trick, but one quickly brought to context by a very familiar-sounding guitar solo. Then come a horn section that once again might illicit a second take, before familiar chorus of Martsch’s simple wisdom. These new sounds, wrapped in old clothes, make for a delightful and surprisingly fresh-sounding album from a band who have been around for 16 years.
From front to back, There Is No Enemy is a Built to Spill album in finest form. But apart from just being a good album, it is finally a proper entry into the 00′s by a band who very nearly were defined by the 90′s. This propulsion, acceleration, re-emergence, will allow Built to Spill to stay relevant and exciting while many bands from their decade are playing reunion tours. And no, I’m not referring to BLACKstreet.
