Built To Spill took it back with their second album for Warner Brothers. Perhaps they thought that their time on a major label would be short lived, who knows? Whatever the case was, Doug Martsch and co trimmed down the song lengths and embraced the sounds of a big studio for Keep It Like A Secret. Gone were the six minute plus songs of Perfect From Now On, the band opting to return to more concise song structures. However, they were still able to maintain the twists, turns, and detours that Martsch was known for. The result was an album that is the most immediate and accessible in Built To Spill’s catalog. Pretty much every song is a winner. Checkout “The Plan,” “Center Of The Universe,” “Bad Light” and “You Were Right” for starters.

• black double vinylpressing
• includes bonus track ‘Forget Remember When’
• original release year: 1999
• music label: Warner Records 2020

reviewed by Hank Ohs 11/2014