A rare ancient, prophetic musical gem

Built To Spill - Ancient Melodies of the Future

Warner Brothers, 2001

Since 1993, Built to Spill, with lead singer/guitarist Doug Martsch at the helm, has released eight albums, all of which are full of catchy guitar parts and witty, at times devilishly sarcastic, lyrics. Its newest, its third release from Warner Brothers, Ancient Melodies of the Future, is reminiscent of early Built to Spill but also implies the future of Martsch's musical explorations.

Ancient Melodies of the Future is an album that will please both old fans of Built to Spill and new fans as well. Martsch has once again written distinctive songs with psychedelic tinges, similar to the Flaming Lips.

The new music retains the signature Built to Spill sound with layered guitar parts and funky effects, but this time the songs are more straightforward, with less gimmicky bridges.

Martsch presents his older, punky side with songs like the up-tempo "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss," and his more reflective style, reminiscent of more recent BTS, in songs like "The Host," complete with beautiful strings that are tastefully Beatles-esque.

Martsch, whose slide guitar is nothing short of brilliant, has said in a recent interview that he is beginning to listen to more blues. Perhaps this style influenced the slide guitar on the song "Happiness," in which it sounds like he has made a pilgrimage to a different planet, sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads and made his home at the delta there. They even take a stab at world-music in the song "In Your Mind," in which Martsch sings: "The symptoms of our getting older, the problems that say we don't mind. Most of us never get over, the memories mingled with lies." What is really interesting about Martsch's lyrics is that they fluctuate between revolving around a subject matter and then twist it into metaphors that are often ambiguous, and somehow everything stays intact. This is part of what makes them so interesting. "With magnifications explored, there slowly emerges a pattern. Details you'd normally ignore ..." Martsch continues in the second verse.

Among the more prominent features on this album are the keyboard arrangements played by the very talented Sam Coomes of the band Quasi. Coomes plays on three of the 10 tracks on the album and is a perfect accompaniment to Martsch's spacey guitar. In the song "Alarmed," Coomes plays gorgeous melodies around Martsch's wah-wah and delay effects, which lead to a huge crescendo in which the keyboard parts blast off into chaotic chord changes that end the song appropriately.

Ancient Melodies of the Future is a masterpiece. Whatever the future, filled with rumors of breakups and solo careers, may hold for Built to Spill, this album cements its reputation as one of our era's most creative and dependably ingenious bands. So don't hesitate a second longer; go hear for yourself the splendor of Built to Spill.