Built To Spill - 'Untethered Moon'

Built To Spill
Untethered Moon
Warner Bros. 2015

8.0

The opening track of Untethered Moon, "All Our Songs", tells you basically everything you need to know about the mindset of founder and sole permanent band member Doug Martsch in approaching the band's eighth studio album and first in six years, the longest such gap. There's the admission of the possibility that the 23-year-old Boise project may be nearing its end ("Ah, when it's over, then it's over / Or so they say,"). There's thoughtful reflection on the past ("All night, listened to the second record / it had all these songs / sounded like we're in this together,") that ultimately reaffirms what's kept Martsch plugging away at these records ("And I found a place / Where I know I'll always be tethered / And I knew when I woke up / rock and roll will be here forever,"). And there is, finally, defiance ("Rain on down / show everybody what it means to get wet / let's take down the umbrellas of all our enemies / I'll be fine  in Idaho, America in the 21st century,") in the face of the unknown ("I'm sure that I'll be alright / but I don't know / I don't know,"). It's a powerful opening statement and about as straightforward lyrically as anything you're going to get out of Martsch regarding himself, the band, and the future. Its vintage Built To Spill, down to the fuzzy, echoing guitar riffs, the six-plus minute running time as the opening track, the quick guitar solos snuck into the gaps between verses, and the back third of the song that kicks into double time, then shifts into a break down before moving into a quick guitar freakout that races to the finish line. It's the kind of thing you cap off a riotous show with, so obviously it's the first thing you hear on the album.

At this point, not many things in music are more reliable than the new Built To Spill album, so there are few surprises to be found here, other than the small but significant jump in quality from the rest of Martsch's 21st century output. The previous three albums, Ancient Melodies of the Future (2001), You In Reverse (2006), and There Is No Enemy (2009) were fine but mostly unmemorable, outside of one or two choice tracks per album (respectively "Strange," "Goin' Against Your Mind," and "Nowhere Lullaby") that eventually caused one to wonder if Martsch and his revolving cast of band members really had all that much left to say anymore.

But clearly they do, and it lends the album a sense of urgency that had been sorely missed. Martsch has never been the most forthcoming or illuminating with his lyrics, but there are glimpses of his mind to be had. On "Another Day," Martsch cops to this criticism, admitting "And I don't expect anyone to read my mind / but when you don't I'm disappointed every time," and frets over "an obsolescence no one would have planned." "I just want you to know how I feel," Martsch says before launching into a guitar-led instrumental break that lasts the majority of the brief song, demonstrating that his best tool for conveying his emotions has always been through his guitar rather than his microphone.

And ultimately, it is the music that drives the album more than the lyrics. Despite rotating the lineup as is tradition (for this record, Martsch is joined by Steve Gere and Jason Albertini, former Built To Spill roadies), the majority of the album sits musically in familiar territory for Built To Spill. The fuzzy, swirling guitars are still there, at times bringing to mind an alternate universe where Pavement is re-imagined as a jam band. Lead single "Living Zoo" begins with a gradually exhilarating acceleration of tempo before settling into a comfortable, upbeat groove. There are tinges of surf rock on the album as well, with easy-breezy guitar chords rudely interrupted by borderline lo-fi buzzsaw riffs.

But closer "When I'm Blind" steals the show. Coming across as a post-apocalyptic spaghetti western combination of Pixies' "Vamos (Surfer Rosa)" and Cloud Nothings' "Wasted Days," it allows for two minutes of brief, bleak exposition before quickly storming into a heavily distorted, six minute guitar meltdown that pushes the band just to the point of disjointed collapse before they suddenly arrive back on the main riff and sprint triumphantly to the finish. It proves that Martsch was right to stick "All Our Songs" at the beginning of the album, because this right here is how you end an album, or a live show. You can't follow a song like this; you may as well toss the guitars off the stage and kick over the drums on your way out. Then again, they've only played it twice on their current tour, and neither time was as their closer, so maybe this is just the kind of song they do best. This is the band who wrote "Stop The Show," after all.

There's a million tiny little moments, like the moment on "When I'm Blind" when the band converges back on the song's core riff, that linger in your head long afterwards, moments that take the songs from "pretty good" to "memorable," moments that elevate this album above their others. The way the guitars on "On The Way," build and build to the 2:55 mark and then sustain through the next phrase as another layer of guitars crash in on top of them. The tempo creep on the intro of "Living Zoo" and the outro of "So," and the crunchy guitar tones used throughout that song. Marsch singing, on "Some Other Song," "I don't know how to never fall apart / please tell me how to never fall apart," as his guitar plaintively mimics his vocal melody. I've liked just about every Built To Spill song I've heard, but not all of them stick with me. With a couple exceptions, the songs on this album do. To my ears, Untethered Moon is the strongest thing he's done since Keep it Like A Secret (1999), and a cohesive, very-good-if-not-great album that reminds you of Built To Spill's place in the indie rock pantheon just in case anyone had begun to overlook them on their way from Pavement to Modest Mouse.