Sub Pop (2022)
When The Wind Forgets Your Name is the first proper Built To Spill record in seven years. And they're on Sub Pop, which kind of feels like the label they should have always been on. When the record was announced, I was pretty excited as I've been a pretty big Built To Spill fan for decades. When they started releasing songs from it on the internet, I was seriously underwhelmed. The vocals sounded all weird and distorted in a way that felt just wrong. So, I didn't buy the record when it came out. But, for the sake of completion, I did add it to my Amazon wishlist and my wife picked it for me for my birthday.
Once I put this record on the turntable, I couldn't believe how different it sounded from the crappy videos on YouTube or whatever. I was wrong, turns out this is, in fact, a pretty good Built To Spill record. The vocals that I was so concerned about sound totally fine. Maybe there's a touch more reverb on them than usual, but they don't sound blown out at all like I experienced durning the online clips. I don't know what caused such a disparity, but it's nothing you need to worry about if you were on the fence because of this. Though, maybe I'm the only weirdo that thought there was an issue.
There's only nine songs on the album, but as is the case with most later era Built To Spill, the songs are all pretty long. You're getting your money's worth. In general, things are on the mellow side of the band's catalog. Good hooks throughout, but not too many upbeat pure pop gems. There's a part of me that's always going to wish for a record full of songs like "Joyride," even though I'm sure that ship has sailed many moons ago.
At the end of the day, it's a fun, good record. Not the best Built To Spill album, but certainly not one I would ever call the 'worst.' If you like the band, you'll like this. I like Built To Spill, therefore...
Built To Spill - When The Wind Forgets Your Name:
https://built-to-spill.bandcamp.com/album/when-the-wind-forgets-your-name
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