Few albums in recent memory have stoked as much anticipation as You in Reverse, the sixth full-length studio release from Boise's Built to Spill. Helmed by Doug Martsch, a shy, soft-spoken anti-rawk-star with a gloriously shiny bald head and a coy, understated slacker persona, BTS, with YIR, solve a puzzle they've been piecing together for their fans at live concerts for the last five years.
Continuing to unveil more ragged chops than the 18th Annual World Pork Expo (incidentally, this is a very real event; hope you didn't buy Coachella tickets yet!), Martsch is a stubborn purveyor of the thought-dead six-string solo and an all-around anomaly, and not just because he has nothing to do with the antiquated notion of arena-rock-god excess. Sure, dude's never trashed a hotel room or disposed of a dead hooker's carcass like many guitar gods, but his lyrics and unique slant on indie rock are much more important than his mannerisms or road behavior.
Oh, Doug's a flouter alright, and he's leapt several creative hurdles on his way to your stereo, hopping from the hilarious mud-pie guitar showcases of his earliest work under the Built to Spill moniker to the epic grandeur of Perfect From Now On to the almost symphonic luster of Ancient Melodies of the Future. You in Reverse, like the men behind the music, refuses to walk the line. A triumphant return to form? Mmmmmmaybe.... A drastic departure? Mmmmmmm no.... A stab at a radio-friendly hum-a-long? Fooooook no.... Another Built to Spill product that can't be pigeonholed? BINGO!
Still strapped to the steadily shifting style that has forced many an outsider to rumple his/her gulp-hole, Built to Spill will fuggin' frazzle you over the course of a full album, extensively testing the listener's will to wander. You don't mind wading through the urgently delivered, eight-minutes-plus, late-for-work rush of "Goin' Against Your Mind"? Try plodding through the pick-heavy, plunky porridge of "Saturday" without mucking yer boots. "Wherever You Go" sounds like trad BTS to you? How 'bout dunking your head in the gutter-bucket finale of "Conventional Wisdom," with its seemingly never-ending fray of intersecting guitar figures?
Don't get the wrong impression. Despite sporting a few new trinkets on their flunkie jackets, Built to Spill are still tougher than leather, softer than silk, and root their dalliances in the same well of inspiration. You In Reverse invests heavily in all sorts of guitarisms -- thus moving away from Ancient Melodies' harpsichordal (technically Sam Coomes' "rocksichord") haughtiness -- and delivers the moods we've all come to expect from Martsch, just heightened, often to disorienting ends. Apparently revitalized and rejuvenated after a long dead period, Built to Spill pour a glowing display of exploratory zest and energy into the confines of each YIR composition, coming through in the clutch where so many 'don't call it a comeback' comebacks flop. Let's just hope we don't have to casually diddle ourselves for five more years waiting for full-length album no. 7.
1. Goin' Against Your Mind
2. Traces
3. Liar
4. Saturday
5. Wherever You Go
6. Conventional Wisdom
7. Gone
8. Mess With TIme
9. Just A Habit
10. Wait, The