Built to Spill
Untethered Moon

The sound of Built To Spill is, without a doubt, typically '90s: from that period, in fact, they are one of the groups that have carried on the spirit most in the following decades, through the surprising quality of their productions (at least a couple of their masterpieces in the '00s: “You in Reverse” from '06 and “There is no Enemy” from '09) and through the sound of “those” guitars, of course, a sound that digs deep, a luminous sound, like a rainbow after the rain.

In 1997, that masterpiece “Perfect from Now On” was released, destined to remain probably their undisputed peak: a perfect representation of their sound, the '97 record was fundamental for their evolution, evidence of this is that a Doug Martsch in search of an inspiration that seemed reluctant to arrive (it was indeed six years between the previous “There is no Enemy” and this “Untethered Moon”), decided to perform it live in its entirety with the band during their penultimate tour, and I like to think that during one of those concerts Doug's rainbow began to shine again, despite (or perhaps also because) their historic rhythm section (Nelson and Plouf) pulled out more or less in the same period and in their place came two young roadies (Albertini and Gere), who probably contributed to the group's “rebirth” with their driving force.

“Untethered Moon” is, let’s say it straight away, a solid, inspired album, played with guts, and it almost touches yet another masterpiece: the start is scorching (the opening of “All Our Songs” brings to mind, in intensity, the opening of “You in Reverse” from '06 with the memorable “Going Against Your Mind”) and basically gives no respite, with tracks that perfectly reflect that typically '90s Alternative spirit (“Living Zoo”, “Some Other Song”, “Another Day”), lysergic atmospheres (“On the Way”, “So”), clever pop concessions (the delightful “Never Be the Same”, “Horizon to Cliff”) and the black hole (with a way out, though) of the concluding eight and a half minutes of “When I'm Blind”, which is a vortex, a storm of fighting guitars from which one emerges exhausted but victorious, despite the last words of the lyrics reciting that “What is wrong with me?” that Cobain screamed in “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and that Coxon repeated like a mantra in “What’ll it Take”: the fact that three of the '90s musical artists who have influenced me the most are united by a phrase that often resounds in my head as well is a funny coincidence that has always fascinated and amused me.

“And I found a place / Where I know I'll always be tethered / And I knew when I woke up / Rock and roll will be here forever”