Built to Spill “There Is No Enemy” Review

I have been around the block and back again when it comes to Built To Spill. And as a longtime fan I feel I have earned the right to be critical of a band I have always held dear (they did soundtrack my college years, after all, forming BTS when I was a freshman, and growing stronger as a band as I grew smarter as a student, or something like that). So when looking at their output this decade, I can honestly say that if I wasn’t so emotionally invested in their career already, I would’ve just stopped caring about them entirely. Both 2001′s overly produced, discursively poppy Ancient Melodies Of The Future and 2006′s stronger but still maddeningly unfocused and meandering You In Reverse (not to mention lead singer Doug Martsch’s bluesy and sparse solo record Now You Know) failed to enthrall me the way their late ’90s releases did. Their live shows are still pretty sick, so those certainly kept me interested, but I started to think of them more as a live entity than a studio band (it doesn’t help that they seemed to take an interminable amount of time between albums anyway). But with the release of their new album, There Is No Enemy, Built To Spill have recaptured my attention with a record that is packed with guitars, melody, and emotion, while still throwing in enough musical surprises throughout to prove that the band is still growing and willing to try new things, even after 17 years in the business.

The album starts with the concise narrative of “Aisle 13,” which packs a lot of guitar-laden effects and warms sentiments within its brief three minutes. It sets an expeditious theme to the first half of the album, with most of the songs clocking in at three or four minutes, a rarity for Built To Spill (although much more common these days). “Hindsight” is a marvelously pensive, mellifluous pop song, and represents one of the sweetest songs Martsch has written in a long time, complete with a shout out to Canada towards the end. “Nowhere Lullaby” is a bit plodding and sedated, but the tender chorus is enough to save the song from obscurity. Add to that the deeply meaningful lyrics: “Has it been that long/Where’s the time and the table gone/Hope it’s longer than that now/Don’t forget we don’t know how,” that gently addresses both the history of the band and the relationship Martsch is describing in the song, and the wistful track is able to resonate serenely with any listener that has ever chosen to look back.

Martsch could be addressing his critics or the state of the music industry on “Good Ol’ Boredom,” with the lines “Welcome back good ol’ boredom/Not so bad, seems so great.” But there is a feistiness hidden within his complacency, and his guitar solos in the song reflect that spirit, and take this song somewhere entirely welcome and anticipated. “Life’s A Dream” hearkens back to Keep It Like A Secret-era BTS, with a tinge of the Beatles in the “La-la-la” of the chorus. And again, the song seems to feature Martsch looking back and reflecting on where he came from and how he got here, and for someone that truly cares about his colorful history, it’s no wonder that these songs hit home for me. “Oh Yeah” sounds like it is a Perfect From Now On outtake, exuding an ominous, foreboding tone reminiscent of “I Would Hurt A Fly,” and the slow-burning, simmering intensity of the song is unleashed wonderfully during Martsch’s blistering guitar solo at the three minute mark.

Built To Spill dig really deep on the Ultimate Alternate Wavers-like romp of “Pat,” which burns with an potency that is refreshing and quite jarring upon initial listens. But it’s good to hear the band rattling the walls again, and it’s obvious they had a fun time tearing through this one in the studio. The band again layer on the guitar effects on “Done,” and even though the track wanders a bit during its second half, Martsch, along with Jim Roth and Brett Netson, create enough interesting guitar sounds to hold the listeners interest over the course of the song’s seven minutes. “Planting Seeds” is a bit too formulaic, musically, for me, but it holds some of their more impassioned lyrics of Martsch’s career, not only referencing Bill Hicks, but also containing these resolute lines about rip-off artists: “And just because you love something doesn’t mean it’s yours to buy/Been selling it so long that no one even knows the reason why/You’ve been messing with our minds/Gettin’ rich wasting our time.” I can identify with this more volatile Built To Spill, and that sense of spirit is what inevitably makes this record a triumph. That passion carries into “Things Fall Apart,” which sounds exactly like a BTS song (complete with intricate guitar work and Doug dropping the F-bomb a few times) until horns drop into the mix at the halfway point, and the song really starts to soar before fading out in a prolonged coda featuring more passionate lyrics by Martsch.

There Is No Enemy closes with the lengthy “Tomorrow,” a nearly eight minute slow fade that adheres to a blueprint that BTS has been following for a long time now of putting the longest song on an album last (on You In Reverse they naturally switched things up and put the longest track first). The song initially hints at being a bit of a sleeper, before the band suddenly erupts with a barrage of potent, catchy guitars and the driving drumming of Scott Plouf and closes out the record quite strongly. It stretches on a bit past it’s point of usefulness, but still maintains a sincerity that makes it endearing. And that is perhaps the most telling aspect of the album; that these lyrics of Martsch’s are all very personal, reflective and moving, and when combined with the rich melodies and consistently great guitar riffs found throughout this album, it’s hard not to be roused by Built To Spill once again.

Also: Built To Spill @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2009