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100

Entertainment Weekly

A lovely surprise. [17 Aug 2001, p.72]

PopMatters

Built to Spill's latest album is mellower, dreamier, and more laidback than their previous recordings.... Yet the album is as much of a rock-guitar masterpiece as anything they've done.

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Magnet

Martsch and Co. have dipped their bucket deep into the well of pop's past to create a recombinant, joyous sound that has few modern equals. [#51, p.87]

Launch.com

Built To Spill relies on old-school verses/ choruses that demand humming just like that old-time rock 'n' roll...

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E! Online

With their intensely layered harmonies, pounding rhythms and Martsch's own nasal drawl, songs like "Alarmed" and "You Are" are sublimely hummable pop gems.

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Rolling Stone

Martsch and his bandmates (bassist Brett Nelson and drummer Scott Plouf) continue to make dense, driving rock with good old-fashioned chords and melodies, and for this we should all be grateful.

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The Onion (A.V. Club)

Once it establishes that it won't again radically update the Idahoans' sound, Ancient Melodies Of The Future reveals itself for what it is: a compilation of 10 more snaky, tricky, engrossing rock songs that continue in the vein of arguably Built To Spill's best album.

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Sonicnet

Ancient Melodies... acknowledges the importance of ongoing adult relationships. This may reduce the music's hipness quotient, but it greatly increases its emotional resonance.

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HOB.com

Not as immediate as Keep It Like A Secret, or as unified on the sonic surface, but with enough patience, Ancient Melodies of the Future resonates on a level that connects the band's body of work, while also taking it a step further.

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All Music Guide

Built to Spill expands on the big sound that they crafted with Keep It Like a Secret.

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Spin Cycle

Songwriter Doug Martsch again succeeds in striking an impressive balance between guitar-saturated bombast and impeccable melodic taste.

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Splendid

It lacks the freewheeling, go-for-broke gusto of its predecessors.

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Spin

Built to Spill used to grab for structure, dividing albums between compact songs and epic gushers; now the songs themselves throb like big guitar solos. [Aug 2001, p.137]

Almost Cool

For most other groups, it would be a winner, but for Built To Spill it's a slight comedown from their stellar streak.

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Trouser Press

Has muddied sound in spots but careful, detailed and varied playing.

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Nude As The News

It's not that the music is bad, per se, it's just not very interesting.

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Alternative Press

With Ancient Melodies, Built To Spill are concentrating more on developing a single idea rather than worrying about the patchworking of the past. This fails to play to Built To Spill's strength: their firm handle on alt-guitar dynamics. [Aug 2001, p.78]

Neumu.net

Ancient Melodies of the Future sounds more like "vaguely familiar melodies of the past," but so do some of the best albums in rock.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kris B gave it an8:
I was a bit too rough on this album when i first heard it a few years ago. Yes, it is a slight step backward from their previous albums, but it's still better than most music out there. It's just a different, more jaded Built to Spill. Their fans have to just get used to the fact that they put out three perfect albums, and they'll continue to make incredible albums until their end.

ya right gave it a10:
moody, melodic, beautiful, bliss......

Julian E. gave it a 9:
I am an aussie and I have never heard of these guys - I bought this and it is truly amazing - mesmerising and intelligent stuff. I listened to their previous album and this latest album makes it look young and unfulfilled however indie-guitar-worthy. World, get this latest gem.

Joss S. gave it an 8:
the album rings of "built to spill flare." every song can pull in the listener more with each listen. one of the years best. one of the bands best (but then again most of em are). gosh this band is sure consistent

Spanky Malone gave it a 10:
Love the band, love this album.

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