My expectations for the music in 2001 has been abnormally high. So many new albums by a slew of my favorite artists. A dream come true, right? Well, not exactly. Unfortunately, many of the releases thus far have been a partial disappointment. Not necessarily bad albums, just nothing extraordinary. Although Built to Spill's latest album, Ancient Melodies of the Future, contains nothing extremely extraordinary, I was surprised to find more enjoyment than disappointment.
Most of the 10 tracks can be compared to previous Built to Spill efforts. Tracks like "The Host" and "Alarmed" sound akin to something from Perfect From Now On and "You Are" and "Don't Try" sound fresh off Keep It Like A Secret. Even the extremely poppy and infectious number "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss" wouldn't seem too out of place on There's Nothing Wrong With Love.
But the album still has some fairly original tracks, especially the powerful "In Your Mind". A notable difference between the Built to Spill of present compared to the past is the less dominant force of the guitar. There are still layers of 6-string chaos, but they are less prominent now. Instead, keyboards and strings are stuffed to fill in the sound.
But Ancient Melodies falls short with a couple songs -- namely, "Happiness" and "The Weather". The former sees Built to Spill at their songwriting worst, while the latter is a cheesy love song: "As long as it's talking with you / talk of the weather will do." But the rest of the album is strong - give or take a few weak sections.
And although these songs lack the immediate impact of classic BTS songs such as "The Plan", "Made Up Dreams", or "Car", you'll start to pick up on more and more interesting parts with repeated listens.
Overall, Ancient Melodies doesn't stray too far from Built to Spill's trademark sound, causing the album to seem more or less a continuation of KILAS. It would have been nice to be surprised by an album that headed off in an unexpected turn, but why change when the songwriting still kicks ass? 1. Strange
2. The Host
3. In Your Mind
4. Alarmed
5. Trimmed and Burning
6. Happiness
7. Don't Try
8. You Are
9. Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
10. The Weather
More about: Built to Spill
