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Album Review: Built to Spill – There Is No Enemy (Warner Bros.)

There_is_No_EnemyIf you’ve seen Built to Spill live in the last few years, you probably got a preview of a few of the tracks on There is No Enemy. “Good Ol’ Boredom,” “Life’s A Dream,” and “Done” are the kind of drawn out songs that originally had me suspecting the new album would follow in the vein of You In Reverse.  However, while those are some jammier tracks that probably needed road-testing, the band has largely reined in the more free-form, improvisation-based structures that carried the day on their 2006 release.  Instead, they have returned to the mastery of the sometimes overlooked process of recording and editing.  That same process set them apart from the alternative slacker icons who ruled the scene when they started (and have since become relics of the past).

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Constructive Interference: Built to Spill’s “Big Dipper”

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MP3: Built to Spill – Big Dipper from There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (1994)

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MP3: Built to Spill – Big Dipper performed live at Rams Head Live in Baltimore, MD 2008.09.24

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MP3: The Thermals – Big Dipper (Built to Spill) Live at Echoplex

After seeing this great show by BTS earlier this week, I found myself re-discovering their track “Big Dipper” and playing it non-stop. So I thought I’d kick off a new section of in-depth, exhaustive and track-specific spotlights. It’s just kind of my take on the track and a bunch of clips including a straight-laced but good cover by personal favorites, Portland punk extraordinaires the Thermals.

“Big Dipper” is a precious, endearing and understated gem in a catalog full of them. Read the rest…

Built to Spill, Meat Puppets, The Drones @ Rams Head Live

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MP3: Built to Spill – Stop the Show (Live) from Live (1999)

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MP3: Built to Spill – Three Years Ago Today from Ultimate Alternative Wavers (1993)

Wednesday was my first time at Rams Head Live to see the always spectacular Built to Spill (Myspace/Wiki).  I got there at about 8:30, just in time to catch the last five songs from poorly advertised opener The Drones.  After going to the bar and specifically requesting the cheapest thing they had (a $5 bottle–which would have been an awful deal if I had selected anything other than the Beck’s I chose) we settled in to watch The Drones, who were a pleasant surprise.  I’ve noticed that Built to Spill seem to tour with bands who match well with their intricate guitar pop audience, and these guys were no exception. Read the rest…

Built to Spill and Meat Puppets at Ram’s Head Live

Wednesday, September 24, Ram’s Head Live is proud to welcome Built to Spill and Meat Puppets, two offshoots of the 2008 All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival, which has probably gone down as having the most stacked lineup of a festival in recent rock music history.  Built to Spill will perform their 1997 Warner Brothers debut, Perfect from Now On, in its entirety, certainly the most musically demanding item in their repertoire.  There’s no word yet on whether Meat Puppets will play through Meat Puppets II as they did at ATP fest, but either way the show should be a treat.

Built to Spill is quite simply one of my favorite bands ever. Read the rest…