Too few albums take advantage of that first-track opportunity to greet the listener, to settle into a place in the band's canon, to position itself in the musicfan life experience. Whether it's Separation Sunday's declaration to pick up where Almost Killed Me left off, Kid A's commitment to an anti-rock swerve, or Is This It's concession to unmeetable expectations - it's always a little thrill to be addressed so openly.
On the ripping first track All Our Songs, Doug Martsch muses along with us about the long trip Built to Spill's been on over the decades, about how strange it is to be anything at all, flanked by a who's who of guitar effects, one after another, a 21 gun salute to band not yet dead. It's sentimental and thrilling and personal, and from there on out I'm hooked to the rocket, ready for whatever I hear next.
That's the highest high on the record, but everything else lives up to the legacy, full of grand guitars, intimate asides, and structural swings that make their own clockwork sense. This is a veteran, assured band, drawing you into the fold, inviting you to jam on rock and roll over some beers, a warm, intricate record that I think will probably grow closer over time Who'd have thought? I'd given up on these guys, but dammit if Doug didn't set me straight 4/5
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