Built To Spill -- Ancient Melodies of the Future

Scott Thill

Let's get this out of the way right now -- Doug Martsch is a genius.

That being said, many might feel that the brains behind what is probably the most famous and critically acclaimed "alternative" -- if that word means anything anymore -- band circulating through music today, Built To Spill, is a bit too high-pitched in the voice department, wordy in the lyrics department, and clever in the chord department.

But Martsch and Co. have reinvented themselves on Built To Spill's latest, Ancient Melodies of the Future, crafting another generous offering of guitar virtuosity, odd chord changes, and thoughtful lyrics, with an eye to the more gentle, heartfelt sincerity of songs like "Else," from their last studio effort, Keep It Like a Secret. But BTS' signature experimentation always rears its curious head, even in the midst of the flow of feelings.

Take, for example, the dreamy lilt of "Alarmed" -- arguably, the disc's best song -- where Martsch laments, "In the hurry of the past/I forgot to make it last/Simple choices made too fast" to a swelling and decreasing wall of sound equal parts guitar and keyboards, before the song crescendoes into a minor key madness that thankfully ends after a brief foregrounding. Such turns of lyrical and musical phrases are BTS' staple, and there are plenty to go around.

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Then there are the other BTS mainstays: the churning, relentless rock that sounds as if it crept out of some strange Neil Young/Dinosaur Jr. collaboration, then reinvented itself over again. "Trimmed and Burning" is the standout of choice in that category, and it doesn't disappoint when posted up against similar tunes from BTS' previous efforts, such as "Broken Chairs" from Keep It Like a Secret.

With one major difference: length.

Built to Spill's last album, Live, had songs running almost into double digits, a feat that Martsch may have wanted to skip this time around -- the longest track on Ancient Melodies of the Future barely comes in over five minutes. While that may give the guitar geeks like myself a bit of a downer, most late adopters of this fascinating band will probably be stoked with the decision.

Either way, Built To Spill remains one of the most intriguing bands in music these days, and it would be highly worth it to pick up anything they have put together at your local store.

And this latest collection is a great place to start.

Scott Thill -- a media fanatic who finds the time to write on everything that does not include the words "boy band" -- is a gainfully employed dotcom editor currently finishing his first novel, The Dangerous Perhaps.