Built to Spill: Keep It Like a Secret (2LP) [WARNER BROS.]

Why you'll love it

This all-analog edition spreads the album over a 2LP set for better sound and adds the B-side "Forget Remember When." Pitchfork ranked Keep It Like a Secret No. 41 on its list of the top albums of the 90s.

This edition

• 2LP set
• All-analog recording
• Bonus track "Forget Remember When"
• Pressed in the USA

About the album

After the sprawling epics of Perfect from Now On, Doug Martsch decided to write shorter songs. His method was splendidly roundabout: the band jammed for up to five hours at a time in Boise, Martsch kept a tape machine running on a foot pedal, then he combed through the hours of tape for the good bits and built them into tight, glorious songs.

Phil Ek recorded the basic tracks at Bear Creek near Seattle. "The Plan" kicks off with knotty, ringing guitars, "Center of the Universe" is a sunny, spiralling singalong, "Carry the Zero" might be the band's finest moment, and "You Were Right" strings together famous rock lyrics into a wry, wistful collage. "Else" and "Broken Chairs" let the guitars stretch out beautifully.

Metacritic scored it 79, and The A.V. Club later called it perhaps the best encapsulation of the band's work. Turning five-hour jams into four-minute songs is the slowest shortcut in rock, and worth every hour of tape.

Also at Kops: more Built to Spill on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Warner Bros. (cat# 163964-1), a reissue of the 1999 album.