Keep It Like A Secret – George Agnos

It is unfortunate that the alternative rock scene, which
blossomed in the early 90’s, did not live up to the hype that was
made at the time. Too many of the bands that had monster hits could
not live up to the standards they set on their followup recordings.
Also, many of the newer bands just seem like tepid imitations of
the older bands.

Help does seems to be on the way, though. Enter the Idaho band
Built To Spill with their wonderful new CD,
Keep It Like A Secret.What sets this band apart from many
others is that they go back to the basics. Their approach and
influences seem to be the same as the older alternative bands. I
hear a lot of Neil Young and Bob Mould in their sound, but they
take what those artists did a step further providing a more
off-center, quirky feel.

You will immediately notice the Young-like intonations in singer
Doug Martsch’s voice when he sings “The plan keeps coming up again”
on the first song called “The Plan”. But you will also hear how the
song gradually shifts into indie-rock territory helped along with
Martsch’s Mould like guitar licks. Built To Spill stays truer to
Young’s style with the folk-rocker “Carry The Zero”, betrayed only
at the very end when the guitars crank up to an alternative
fury.

There are other influences on
Keep It Like A Secret. “Center Of The Universe” recalls the
more audacious sound of Jane’s Addiction. The pop-oriented
“Sidewalk” has a great hook with enough of a quirky charm to be
more than a standard pop song. Their best chance for a hit is on
the novelty tune “You Were Right” which make references to famous
classic rock lines: “You were right when you said we are all just
dust in the wind/You were right when you said we’re all just bricks
in the wall”.

However,
Keep It Like A Secret is not as poppy as I have made it
seem. “Time Trap” starts off with a long instrumental before the
quirky vocals and rhythm appear. “Temporarily Blind” is a strange
song with unusual guitar licks that shifts gears a couple times
keeping the listener off balance. The CD ends with “Broken Chairs”,
a long, moody piece with a jam that is mesmerizing.

This type of quirky alternative rock tends to be very hit and
miss, and while I really liked it, I must admit that it is not for
everyone.
Keep It Like A Secret proves to me that the alternative rock
scene is not as creatively dead as I thought. But if radio
continues to ignore bands like Built To Spill, the scene will
continue to be in a coma.