"those old songs sound like they've been here forever" (Built To Spill - Untethered Moon)

Built To Spill
Untethered Moon
Why you'll love it: Positive energy.  Wild guitars

Why you'll hate it: Buncha plain white dorks

Once something is labeled "an institution", it starts to become taken for granted.  It's a term I see more commonly used as an excuse rather than a complement.  Built To Spill more than earned a reputation in the 90s.  Bands like Dinosaur Jr. nudged it, but it was Built To Spill (among others, hello Pavement) that marked a sea change from the era of Nirvana's doom & gloom into a more charming and witty dawn of indie rock.  Doug Martsch's twee lyrics met with his threatening guitar skills made for an effective bait-and-switch.  Especially in their crowning achievement, Keep It Like A Secret (1999).

Call it a poor decision, or a lack of pop inspiration, but the 2000's saw Built To Spill going in the opposite direction of what made Keep It Like Secret such a fan favorite record.  Instead, the complex noodling of Perfect For Now on (1997) became the style Built To Spill pushed into the next 15 years of records.  A direction that yield mixed results.  Ancient Melodies of The Future (2000) is a yawn of an album, and 2009's There is No Enemy is as pleasant (and uneventful) as a Sunday drive.  Only You in Reverse (2007) stands out for really pushing the limits of long adventurous songwriting.  Thanks to the instrumental talent, Built To Spill's "boring years" have been an easy pill to swallow.  Although, that "but they're an institution" excuse had started to creep in...

Doug Martsch admitted writer's block in the years after There is No Enemy, which eventually led to a breakdown between him and a long-standing rhythm section.  With a new backup band, Martsch has seemingly found the fountain of youth in Untethered Moon.  There is an undeniable kick of energy from the very start of "All Our Songs".  The pace has packed up.  The drums are louder.  The guitars once again have a stinging ring to them.  The very next song, "Living Zoo" proves that what you just heard before was no fluke.  Built To Spill is finally picking up where they left off in the late 90's!  As the intro revs up, "Living Zoo" has electricity that still gives me goosebumps on the 20th listen.  That youthful feeling goes as far back as 1994's There's Nothing Wrong With Love, with "On The Way"'s authoritative acoustic guitar stroking and "Never Be The Same"s cute as all get-out chorus baseline.

Long twisted songs still are a staple of the band.  "C.R.E.B" and "Some Other Song" represent the best of what Martsch has been composing for the last fifteen years, well accented with a heavy dose of fuzz.  The real goliaths are saved for last, though.  "So" has such an epic build.  A BTS staple often heard in the late 90's but hardly replicated in the 00's.  Finally, there's the experimental closer "When I'm Blind".  This song JUST GOES!  Six minutes of Martsch in a clumsy back-alley fistfight with his guitar.  It is the They Live of guitar solos!

All the while, Doug Martsch emanates positive charm.  The sharp wit of his early years have dulled, but there is a real enjoyable tone in his voice, and lovable dorkiness to his introspection.  A lot of people may be turned off by a band that sounds like it's fronted by Ned Flanders, but Built To Spill's... Idaho-ness juxtaposes their gritty experimental sound in a way that sets them apart from most indie acts.  There is just something more genuine to a musical act that isn't always trying to be cool.

Untethered Moon is the follow up to Keep it Like A Secret that everyone was afraid to ask for, in the presence of how good Built To Spill's previous two records have been.  It's so clear now; this is the sound Built To Spill has existed for.