4/5 stars
Built To Spill have returned after six years, doing what they do best: creating epic indie guitar odysseys.
A lot of the press concerning Untethered Moon has been critical about Built To Spill sounding too much like Built To Spill, but I fail to see this as a bad thing. While all their peers from their ’90s heyday are either defunct or flirting with the mainstream, BTS continue to create indie rock with scope – and are one of the only bands doing so.
As always, the swarm of guitars that Doug Martsch and co. have brought to this album is something to behold. Witness the tempo changes of ‘Living Zoo’, the wonky coda to ‘On The Way’ and the career-making jam at the end of ‘So’.
Meanwhile, ‘When I’m Blind’ is basically a six-minute guitar solo from one of the best guitarists going. If that doesn’t sound like your thing, this album probably isn’t for you.
So yes, Built To Spill have made an album that sounds like Built To Spill. It was great in the mid-’90s, and it’s great now. And if they don’t make this type of music, who will?
As Martsch sings, “Rock’n’roll will be here forever”. Here’s hoping Built To Spill are too.
Built To Spill’sUntethered Moonis out through Warner.
