Perhaps realizing that their time on a major label was likely limited,
Built to Spill
made a gutsy choice for
Keep It Like a Secret
, their second album for
Warner Brothers
. They embraced the sounds of a big studio and focused their sound without sacrificing their fractured
indie rock
aesthetic. In a sense, this is
's
pop
album: every song is direct and clean, without the long, cerebral jamming that characterized their earlier albums. That's not to say that the album is compromised -- the songwriting may be streamlined, but
Doug Martsch
now packs all of his twists, turns, and detours into dense, three-minute blasts. This approach, combined with the shiny sonic textures, makes
the most immediate and, yes, accessible
record, but they steadfastly open their music up and breathe the way, say,
Pavement
did on
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
or
Brighten the Corners
.
still demand that listener meet them on their own terms -- these just happen to be the easiest terms to understand in their catalog. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine