Built to Spill - There is No Enemy (2009)

I'm very pleased with this album. Built to Spill have a great sound, but have not always been able to make great albums. I love their messy, dreamy guitar sounds, and similar vocal style, but they haven't always combined them with great songwriting. Instead, there have been some very good albums, that were plenty enjoyable, but seemed a bit aimless at times. I tend to find myself revisiting the standout tracks, jumping between albums, rarely letting one play all the way through. I really love this band, but there are only so many times I can play "Goin' Against Your Mind," or "Carry the Zero" without wishing I had an entire album of similarly awesome songs. So, I was pleased to find There is No Enemy more cohesive than anything they've released in at least ten years, if not ever. It has their typical hazy guitar sound, but it also has some of their strongest songwriting in a long time, and is among the best releases I've heard this year. The guitar work in "Aisle 13" is a treat. The country/bluesy feel of "Hindsight" is similarly glorious. The horns in "Life's a Dream" are a nice touch. The last track on the album is also among their best, with a bass heavy guitar melody. It's little things like this that give the album more flavor than some of their past ones have had. To me, this album has the band at their best, and although they have not released an album I don't like, this could become my favorite.

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