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I'm guessing a few of you guys have gotten the new Built To Spill record, There Is No Enemy. If you haven't, and are a BTS fan, then wait no longer. The record is fantastic-- instantly rates as their third best behind the bona fide classics Perfect From Now On and Keep It Like a Secret.
And this is coming from a guy who thought Ancient Melodies of the Future totally bit and has spoken disparagingly of the band's live shows for over a decade. I think I've got an objective viewpoint on Built To Spill, and I'm here to say the new album is great.
8 comments:
That's a great song! I really liked Perfect From Now On back in the day, but that's about the extent of my Built to Spill knowledge. I think I discovered them at about the same time I discovered Modest Mouse, and I preferred at the time to follow Modest Mouse further into cold bleak places and left BTS behind...maybe it's time to correct that.
BTS is one of those bands/artists (like Yo La Tengo or, until recently, Bonnie Prince Billy) that I have some knowledge of - enough to know that I appreciate what they do - but don't really know all that well. But I have always wanted to. I've been contemplating picking this up. Is it an acceptable place to start, or is this a foolish plan?
That is great to hear and I will pick this up very soon. By the way, Ancient Melodies did suck, but their last one (forgetting the name) was actually pretty solid. Concededly, I rarely listen to it, but it had a couple of amazing songs on it and is worth checking out. But if this is a real return to form (and it is being billed as such) then I'm psyched.
You In Reverse -- that's what it's called. At the least download/youtube "Goin Against Your Mind" and especially "Conventional Wisdom," which is one of my favorite B2S songs ever.
You In Reverse was definitely a good record. Big improvement from Ancient Melodies. But it wasn't on the level of their best material. This one is. As (probably) the biggest Built To Spill fan on here, my order would be:
Tier One: Keep It Like a Secret, Perfect From Now On
Tier Two: There Is No Enemy, There's Nothing Wrong With Love
Tier Three: You In Reverse, Ultimate Alternative Waivers
Tier Four: Ancient Melodies of the Future
Oddly enough, Ancient Melodies got 4.5 stars from the All Music Guide. Further reminds me of why I find that guide to be so unreliable.
And yeah, VC, I think this album is a perfectly good place to start with this band, especially because it's on sale most places. I got mine on Amazon for $9.99.
By the way, as a point of reference to my one-time hipsterdom (I peaked in this regard at age 14; Eric can testify), I got into Built To Spill because I was first a fan of Doug Martsch's old band, Treepeople. (Also liked his side project, the Halo Benders.)
But why did I like Treepeople? Because Kurt Cobain name-dropped them in a Rolling Stone interview in 1993, of course! Needless to say, I instantly got their record, which I still have. Good ol' C/Z Records...
This now concludes the nostalgia portion of this post.
i thought You In Reverse had better mind-melting guitar solos. The new one has better songs, which makes it slightly better.
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