Keep It Like A Secret
Built To Spill
Warner
Bros., 1999
Reviewed by
Mark Groeschner
Following 1994's near perfect pop album There's Nothing Wrong With Love
and the epic stomps of 1997's Perfect From Now On, Built To Spill
(singer/songwriter/garage guitar god Doug Martsch, drummer Scott Plouf and bassist Brett
Nelson) took its swirling wall of sound to the masses on Keep It Like A Secret.
Opener and first single "The Plan," a catchy song with no chorus, finds Martsch
wasting no time lashing out at major label hit-making campaigns.
"The
plan won't accomplish anything / if it's not implemented / but the remedy cannot be found
because it is so well hidden," Martsch proclaims, right before dissolving into a
guitar maelstrom that vanquishes any chance this song had at making it to the radio.
Martsch does some back pedaling with "Center Of The Universe," showing that he
can control his chaos and write a flawless pop song complete with Dylan-esque run-on
melodies, Beach Boys two-part harmonies and his own trademark elastic guitar overdubs (all
in less than three minutes). But the band then dips into its '80s college rock handbook
for "Carry The Zero" and "Sidewalk," melding Britpop licks with
uninspiring anthemic lyrics: "Come on break it up, it's gone on long enough, we
haven't changed for you." Here, Built To Spill create a radio friendly sound
Everclear could only dream about.
But just as Martsch hits his stride, "Bad Light," starts eating away at the
aforementioned "plan." Like most geniuses, Martsch seems to tire of sticking to
any sort of routine, and "Bad Light" is his ticket out. This Modest
Mouse-meets-Hendrix rocker has the urgency to go six or eight minutes. But the song's
sudden close makes one wonder if Martsch felt obligated to keep the monster rock to a
minimum to keep his friends in the Warner Bros. A&R department.
Then the pressure of being on major label seems to get to Martsch, and he starts to
question his own songwriting skills on "Time Trap." He introduces the song in a
beautiful Pixies-like fashion (a la "Wave of Mutilation") before going into
Keith Richards-style guitar crunch for the verse: "Its barely yours alone / what you
think you own / the place that you call home / the ideas in your bones."
The song fades out right when things are about to get extremely hectic, which is where
Martsch usually feels most comfortable. Luckily, this abrupt finish clears the way for the
shimmering ode to codependency, "Else," which displays Martsch's uncanny knack
for using his childlike voice to muscle his way into any broken heart.
Built To Spill comes close to giving away its indie credibility, but ends up adding to it
in "You Were Right," the ultimate triumph over writer's block. Who can fault a
tune comprised of melancholy Hendrix, Dylan, Kansas and Doors lyrics, delivered with
tongue firmly in cheek?
But no matter how much Martsch and his band pay tribute to the '70s rock gods, or try to
stick to their A&R man's plan of attack, Built To Spill can't deny its need to explore
and sometimes noodle through a song. On "Broken Chairs," the band closes the
album with a dinosaur of a song, armed with wah-wah pedals and eerie civil war march
whistles, hopefully not a musical omen of the band's major-label fate.
Only time will tell if yet another rock-solid Built To Spill album will remain a secret,
but regardless of how much noodling, compromising or second guessing this trio does,
Martsch and crew remain the best band America is not listening to.
