Built To Spill: You in Reverse

Herald rating: * * * *

Most bands ease you into an album with a nice short intro, or an inviting three- to four-minute tune. Not Built To Spill.

They kick off their seventh album, You In Reverse, with the grandiose eight-and-a-half to nine-minute epic, Goin' Against Your Mind.

It runs along at a fair old clip, like a demented jogger on a run around the bays trying to get something off their chest.

Then, in the sprint for home, they finally explode. Breathtaking, indeed.

Built To Spill have been around since 1991 and this album is one of their best.

There's a Neil Young -sounding reckless, bluesy guitar thud to it (Wherever You Go), that goes head-to-head with the scorching guitar hero antics of Dinosaur Jr. (Conventional Wisdom).

And the slower tracks, such as the lilting Liar, the Mercury Rev-ish Just A Habit, and the thrumming Saturday, break things up nicely.

The album is at its best when singer/songwriter Doug Martsch fires things up and gets the raunch on for Gone and the bolshie, guitar-driven Mess With Time, that wouldn't be out of place on a Queens of the Stone Age album. It's a vast and exciting stunner.

Label: Warners