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Newsday, Melville, N.Y., Drops Column: Spilling Out Every Which Way From Idaho

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Glenn Gamboa, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Apr. 11--For a band that became best known for melodies and guitar work that were as jagged and pointy as the Sawtooth mountain range in its home state of Idaho, Built to Spill has certainly leveled out its sound for its new album.

"You in Reverse" (Warner Bros.) is basically the sound of sprawl. Singer-guitarist Doug Martsch unspools the band's sound and lets it roll out in all sorts of directions - from the prog-rock folk of late-'70s Neil Young, to the mid-'80s jangle of R.E.M., to the lilting dub rhythms of Jah Wobble.

"You do your best to avoid assimilation," Martsch sings in "Traces," a rocker that would fit nicely on R.E.M.'s "Life's Rich Pageant" album or the new Raconteurs record. And it's advice that Built to Spill apparently has taken, opening its new album with "Goin' Against Your Mind," a nine-minute-plus guitar epic that the band is somehow calling a single, even though it has no lyrics for the first two minutes.

There are plenty more guitars on "You in Reverse" - from the cascading electrified solos of "Conventional Wisdom" to the laid-back chiming of the folk-ish "Liar," while "Mess With Time" throws in a bit of reggae. "The Wait" rides a big, fat bassline off into the spacey-guitar-effect sunset, as Martsch sings, "You wait for something that will make the wait worth the wait."

For those hoping for Built to Spill's artistic follow-up to the brilliant, off-kilter grandeur of 1999's "Keep It Like a Secret," the wait continues. But "You in Reverse" is a pleasant enough way to pass the time. ("You in Reverse," in stores today; Grade: B)

ONE MAN'S "TRASH." Forget the Dixie Chicks. Toby Keith's latest album "White Trash With Money" (Show Dog Nashville/Universal) is far more telling about where the country stands on the war in Iraq these days. So what does the guy who jumped from the middle of the cowboy-hatted Nashville pack into multiplatinum status by fanning the flames of war with such singles as "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and "The Taliban Song" have to say now?

Hmmm. Er, nothing. Is that war still going on? 'Cause ol' Toby is back to singing about drinking, getting it on and breaking up again.

"White Trash With Money" is packed with Keith's particular brand of beer-fueled bravado, as seen in the current single "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" or the album closer, "Runnin' Block," where he sleeps with his buddy's girlfriend's sister so his buddy can score with his girlfriend. ("His was kinda hefty, but not half as big as mine," he explains.)

The album does have its moments - especially the classic country delight of "A Little Too Late" and his crooning on "Too Far This Time."

In the end, though, it's hard to tell what Keith actually believes now, though he may come closest with, "All the happiness in the world can't buy you money."

("White Trash With Money,"

in stores today; Grade: C+)

ALSO IN STORES. "Bad Day" singer Daniel Powter's eponymous debut (Warner Bros.); LL Cool J's "Todd Smith" (Def Jam); Saves the Day's "Sound the Alarm" (Vagrant); and The Beatles' "The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2" boxed set.

SONG OF THE WEEK. ¡Si! ¡Si! The unlikely team of Colombian bombshell Shakira and hip-hopper Wyclef Jean make "Hips Don't Lie" (Epic) one of the most irresistible pop singles in quite some time. It's a mix of Latin rhythms, hip-hop cat-calling and a triumphant little synth-pop riff that sounds like it escaped from Asia or Europe or some other massive '80s corporate rock band named after a continent. "Hips Don't Lie" is such a potentially massive hit that Epic packaged it into Shak's "Oral Fixation, Vol. 2" and re-released the album, which will, no doubt, run up the charts again.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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