There are few bands that have made the lasting impression on me, both directly through their actual music, and indirectly through the large amount of music they’ve influenced, as Built to Spill. Classic, classy, perfect for every occasion indie rock; few mixed tapes have been complete over the past two decades without a sprinkling of BtS, weather it be neo-classics like Car or Twin Falls Idaho, one of their varied, often strange covers or very sincere reggae tunes. That nasal, crystalline croon, experimental guitar, always reaching, never stale, and cerebral, lyrical mastery will define youth and young adult life for decades to come and remain an integral ingredient in the bubbling primordial soup of fledgling musicians throughout genres and age groups. So deep into a seminal career like theirs, you’d think the bearded Idahoans would just sit back and cruise on their many sub-hits and genre defining tunes, but no, we just got yet another new addition to the band’s appropriately extensive discography, their seventh, There is no Enemy. This clean cut, pristine record is a welcome addition that I’m sure will prove the test of time like every golden note they’ve touched in the past. I’ve had little time to really absorb the typical BtS density in it’s entirety, but the catchy, heady songs are already relevant as a further step in their well defined trajectory, fine tuning everything that is great about the group, sonically, thematically, and narratively.

In support of this latest effort, the band is doing a full fledged tour, which graciously includes our humble Austin this coming Saturday, the 24th at Stubbs outdoors (now strangely and somewhat yuppily dubbed the Waller Creek Amphitheater). The show also includes another seminal band, one which I am woefully under experienced with, but who’s reputation and obvious influence is undeniable, Dinosaur Jr. I have a few records of theirs, but have never fully wrapped my head around them; always enjoyable, dissonant, and somehow still very accessible, their musical tendrils reach far, temporally and geographically, into the very soil from which so much of the post grunge community has sprung.

This will no doubt be a show to remember, legends in their own right sharing the stage, and not something to pass up if you are a fan of the mid-century  modern of modern rock.

Pick up your tickets here, and check out this great new track from the latest BtS record, available now:

MP3: Built to Spill – Hindsight