Built to Spill returned to the UK this week to promote their latest album, Untethered Moon, their first new album since 2009.
Tonight's support came from Swiss band, Disco Doom. They formed in the late 90's but, I'm sad to say, I hadn't heard of them before. After seeing them perform though, I can officially say I'm a fan, and their perfectly blended noise-rock made them a good fit for the night.
To see Built to Spill on stage, it's easy to forget that they've actually been a band for around 25 years. On stage, they possess an unassuming, yet warm, presence, their set-lists for the night scrawled out on scrap pieces of paper. Their crowd interaction is minimal but meaningful, the occasional "thank you" thrown in between songs. If you weren't actually familiar with the band, chances are you'd be surprised by the full, flawless layers of music they produce.
Built to Spill are known for having lengthy instrumentals in some of their songs, which can sometimes be a struggle for bands to translate to a live setting, not just sound-wise, but in terms of keeping the audiences attention. Thankfully, this didn't seem to be a problem tonight; the long, swirling journeys taken by the guitars held just as much meaning as frontman Doug Martsch's lyrics.
For me, personally, the highlight of the set was "Center of the Universe", though this set was one with no low points.
Built to Spill are, without a doubt, a band worth experiencing live. They still possess all of the qualities that made them so great in the beginning of their career, and continue to add to this with each new album. Hopefully, it won't take so long for them to play in the UK again!
Oh, and here's an obligatory "Yay, I met them!" pic:
Oh, and here's an obligatory "Yay, I met them!" pic:
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