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Built to Spill - Live

Two stars

Idaho indie gods Built to Spill get to showcase their various stylistic leanings on their new release, the unimaginatively titled live album Live.

The group has developed a sizable and devoted audience on the basis of frontman Doug Martsch's clever, fractured songs and guitar jamming, landing on Warner Brothers after two independently released albums.

Last year saw the release of Keep it Like a Secret, the band's most acclaimed album, as well as their most pop-oriented.

On that album, Built to Spill reined in their more self-indulgent tendencies and delivered a condensed, catchy collection of songs - free of the noodly solos that Martsch deployed before.

Unfortunately, the band seems to operate free from concerns like "catchiness" and "taste" in their live set.

Any collection of nine songs running more than 70 minutes is going to be a bit long-winded, but this is unforgivable. Two songs run upward of 19 minutes - each full of pointless and tiresome guitar solos. This is the sort of thing that indie rock aimed to eliminate.

When Martsch realizes he is playing for an audience instead of jamming in his bedroom, things get better. His voice is certainly an acquired taste, nasal and yelping, but he writes interesting pop songs, rife with pleasantly grinding guitars and original melodies.

Perhaps Martsch and co. have felt that their "artistry" was unduly reined in by Warner Brothers during their tenure there; this inessential album feels like a contract-killer.