Built to Spill - Keep It Like a Secret

February 2nd, 1999.

Warner

Keep It Like a Secret celebrates its 25th year of coming up again. KILaS is one of the finest Indie Rock records to ever be brought into existence; a band at their summit; the peak of their powers. 

A bit more on the side of twee compared to 'Perfect From Now On'. A lot more 'fun' - upbeat. The sun is shining more days than not. The world isn't as mysterious as it once was. The pieces to life’s puzzle have come together in some ways. The randomness of it all falls in your favour. The shake which permeated your hands has settled. The lump in your throat soothed out. A confidence has been found. An acceptance of self. No one else can complete it. 

Martsch's lyrics hit the sweet spot of melancholically beautiful. 'Your body breaks, your needs consume you forever.' The sort of lyrics that make you want to cry while you jump for joy as the feeling that has no words finally finds them. 'Life goes on long after the thrill of living is gone.'

Words fall short in attempting to describe - to capture the essence - of 'Carry the Zero'. In the upper echelons of sonic delights, Carry the Zero exists besides 'Pictures of You', 'This Must Be the Place(Naïve Melody) and 'Waterloo Sunset', to name a few. A few of a slightly larger few. A rare track among an even rarer range of tracks. Indescribable sounds captured; lightning in a limitless sub-six-minute bottle. 

The guitar has had many pinnacles in its time - Hendrix in the 60's, Television in the 70's, Johnny Marr in the 80's, and Doug Martsch/Built to Spill in the 90's. 

I would lose my self in this record while cleaning dishes in a restaurant that I worked at. Plenty of arduous breakfast shifts were softened by Built to Spill's music. 

'I don't like this air. But that doesn't mean that I'll stop breathing it.'