it’s early august, summer break’s about to end for me and i’m feeling pretty down about it… so why not review the album of the song i first reviewed to commemorate the end of summer?
first: let’s start with who built to spill are. built to spill is a band from the humble city of boise, idaho, but it’s better to describe it as the ongoing project of singer/guitarist doug martsch. while the band released their best and most well-known works under a major record label, warner bros. records, they are hailed as gods in the world of 90’s indie rock (that’s a theme this week!), known for their distinctive, complex guitar work. keep it like a secret is their fourth studio album, released in 1999.
keep it like a secret was a bit of a surprise if you consider the musical direction built to spill was going in. built to spill’s first two albums, ultimate alternative wavers and there’s nothing wrong with love had poppy, accessible songs. their 1997 masterpiece perfect from now on was a complete departure from that, complete with meandery prog-rock-esque epics with sprawling, expansive guitars and soloing. the shortest song on perfect from now on is five minutes long, and the longest is nine minutes. now let’s look at keep it like a secret. keep it like a secret has a very dreamy, catchy sound while still demonstrating doug martsch’s penchant for exploratory soloing, and it almost seems like a musical step backwards. the songs are shorter- from two-and-a-half minutes to eight-and-a-half minutes, and there are many more hooks and standard song structures.
i think keep it like a secret, however, is a step forward. it has some of built to spill’s most fun work while holding on to the intricacies and complexities it became so well-known for. each minute of each song, compared to perfect from now on, feels more purposeful and definitive. the lyrics make more sense. all the while, on this album built to spill is able to maintain a very precise, unique dream pop sound without veering far into psychedelic rock or shoegaze. not to mention, this album has some of built to spill’s best work. “Carry the Zero” might just be the greatest indie rock anthem ever written.
this album’s main weaknesses, however, might be its occasional lack of memorable melodies and how some musical ideas just don’t feel like they had the chance to be explored enough. “Bad Light” and “Temporarily Blind” just don’t stick as well as the other songs on this album, and while “The Plan” and “Time Trap” are excellent songs in their own right, i feel like they could’ve been expanded in the usual built to spill manner- “The Plan” packs so many sections into one tiny song, they don’t get enough time to shine, while “Time Trap” has an absolutely beautiful, ethereal intro that devolves into a reggae-style groove.
but most of the songs on this album are pretty great. built to spill manages to create the rare blend of something that’s somewhat radio-friendly while being genuinely impressive, musically. doug martsch is still a total genius on the guitar. as for highlights: “Carry the Zero” is the best by far for being this perfect musical catharsis, “Broken Chairs” is an epic, poetic closer, and “Else” is pure dreamy goodness, as dreamy as the album gets.
i haven’t found any albums quite like keep it like a secret yet, where the guitars (as always) interact with one another so well while sounding dreamy and atmospheric and melodic all at once. and this is another album that gives me a good reason to be a poptimist. a solid 8.5/10!
tracklist:
q-street 