Built To Spill Ancient Melodies Of The Future CD

Built To Spill: Doug Martsch (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion); Brett Nelson (bass); Scott Plouf (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Brett Netson (guitar); Sam Coomes (keyboards).
Recorded at Avast! and Bear Creek, Washington; The Manhouse, Idaho.
Personnel: Doug Martsch (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion); Brett Netson (guitar, hi-hat); Sam Coomes (keyboards); Scott Plouf (drums, percussion); Brett Nelson (drums).
Audio Mixer: Sheldon Zaharko.
Recording information: Avast!, WA (2000); Bear Creek, WA (2000); The Manhouse, ID (2000).
Photographer: Tae Won Yu.
With Ancient Melodies of the Future, Built to Spill expand on the big sound that they crafted with Keep It Like a Secret. Like their Northwestern peers Modest Mouse, Built to Spill anachronistically create indie rock that can be played in arenas. "In Your Mind," with its Far Eastern guitar lines and thumping beat, beautifully updates "Tomorrow Never Knows" for the guitar rock set. "Alarmed" spirals into a satisfying guitar and keyboard noise jam, while "Trimmed and Burning" brings a dark "Sunday Bloody Sunday"-era U2 grandiosity to the band's usual jangle pop. "Happiness" is like a speeding car -- it has the intensity, rush, and twanging swagger of an automobile race. The following song, "Don't Try," unleashes a full-on assault of melancholy guitar whine in a validation of life and experience where Doug Martsch repeats matter of factly, "and everyone goes on and on." The album closes with "The Weather," a shimmering love song that begins with a resonant acoustic guitar. The narrator describes being "outside in the cool night, and the stars gravitate towards you." These few lyrics are a fitting description of Built to Spill, a band that goes on and on, always changing, always moving forward, but somehow always staying the same -- familiar and comforting -- as they carry the ancient melodies of personal histories, theirs and yours, into the future. ~ Charles Spano
Built To Spill abandoned any strictly lo-fi leanings long before ANCIENT MELODIES OF THE FUTURE, the band's fifth full-length release, but it is with this album that the trio's near-perfect balance of indie- (almost math-) rock and surprisingly irresistible pop hooks hits stride for a full, satisfying LP. ANCIENT MELODIES OF THE FUTURE retains the line-up of Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson, and drummer Scott Piouf for a third go around, and the consistency has paid off for the most level album of their career. From tracks like the insistent opening track "Strange" to the meanderingly beautiful "The Weather," the album flat mesmerizes.
People forget that these Idahoans would be just as at home on classic rock radio as on the college playlists they occupied throughout the '90s. Built To Spill draws from the subtly complex Eastern sounds of RUBBER SOUL-era Beatles and the most enchanting excesses of the Doors at their best, while singer Martsch unfurls the most charming whine since Neil Young's heyday. What's more, with their eccentric sound, the band has managed four releases on a major label, attracting new fans while managing to retain their credibility within the indie world, which is no mean feat.Rolling Stone (8/16/01, p.102) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...ANCIENT gets the thick, heavy sound they prefer....It's the trimmest album they've made since their 1994 breakthrough, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH LOVE....showing how rock & rollers can aspire to old-school grandiosity..."
Spin (8/01, pp.134,136) - 7 out of 10 - "...Every edge has been rounded...with the abrasiveness of a pillow...the songs themselves throb like big guitar solos....balancing noise and beauty with a honed sense of conviction youmight call aesthetic morality..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/17/01, p.72) - "...The songs turn, wearily and sublimely, into mini-epics..." - Rating: A
CMJ (1/6/03, p.20) - Included in CMJ's list of "Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time"
CMJ (6/11/01, p.5) - "...Gorgeously slouchy pop...spinning an aura that feels both terrifically unfamiliar and as comfortable as that pair of jeans you've had since high school..."