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Zero 7
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Keep It Like A Secret
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 17 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 14 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 23 February 1999
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
This second major-label release from Doug Martsch and company (following 'Perfect From Now On') features shorter, cleaner-sounding songs than that previous release.
Also By This Artist: Ancient Melodies Of The Future There Is No Enemy You In Reverse
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Austin Chronicle
The last album's title ['Perfect From Now On'] was a promise; this one makes good on it.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Recalls last year's fine Halo Benders release, The Rebels Not In, the album Martsch recorded with Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson and former Spinanes and current Built to Spill drummer Scott Plouf. And that's not a bad thing at all.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
In a sense, this is Built to Spill's pop album: every song is direct and clean, without the long, cerebral jamming that characterized their earlier albums.
Read Full Review >Ink Blot Magazine
Perhaps the secret they're trying to keep here is that Built To Spill quite frankly write some of the most original, interesting and catchy pop songs you'll ever hear.
Read Full Review >MTV.com
Somehow these fragments instantly assemble themselves into a gorgeous whole, and there's not a piece you could imagine replacing.
Read Full Review >Nude As The News
Regardless of how much noodling, compromising or second guessing this trio does, Martsch and crew remain the best band America is not listening to.
Read Full Review >CDNow
Built to Spill's combo of wry phrasing and explosive sound is more honed on this album than ever before.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
With its layers of guitars and sharp lyrics, Keep It Like A Secret is a smart, challenging installment in a career that's been as varied as it is prolific.
Read Full Review >Almost Cool
It's sort of a cross between the epic masterpieces of Perfect From Now On and the shorter, more pop songs of There's Nothing Wrong With Love. Basically, it's another winner from the group.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Built to Spill make music with a weird naive excitement that recalls R.E.M. at their fresh-out-of-Athens finest.
Read Full Review >New Musical Express
The album you always want Sebadoh to make: unrestrained, kinda sensitive, speckled with paranoia and insecurities and, best of all, in love with the very idea of making music for the sheer thrill of it.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
Keep It Like a Secret is tightly wound clang, effectively understated in spots.
Read Full Review >Puncture
Sounds exactly like its predecessor, except the songs are shorter and less interesting. [March 1999]
Trouser Press
It's pure BTS, but without enough sparkle or rough-hewn beauty to be memorable.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
Built To Spill sound as if they're trying too hard, and ultimately both The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev do this sort of thing with far more panache.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Dave gave it a10:
Truly an outstanding, fully realized, elegant recording. Perhaps the best ever "indie-pop-rock" album. The lower meta score is a bit perplexing. I notice that White Stripes' Elephant and TV's Return to Cookie Mountain have very high scores; I have and enjoy both of those records and do not really understand why this BTS record was not as widely acclaimed. Perhaps critics prefer the edgy punk-metal sound of Elephant or the unusual new sound of Cookie Mountain. Keep It Like A Secret is no less creative, complex, brilliant and moving than those two records, or anything else out there for that matter. Highly recommended!
jim h gave it a10:
The low rating of this album is proof of how jaded and cynical critics can be. This is one of the most quintessential rock albums of the 90's.
Tom B gave it a10:
My favorite album of all time. I've listened to atleast a track off this album about once a week for the past 4 years. It's good to pop into your car stereo or put on headphones and pick apart song layers--like eating a layer cake: sometimes you want to eat some frosting, sometimes you want to eat some strawberry filling, and sometimes you just want to eat hunks of forkfulls of it all. Each layer of each song goes down so smoothly and is so dumbfoundingly incredible. It's so beautiful , thought- provoking, timeless, earnest, genius... It's basically the album I use to tell if people have an ear for good music or not. Ranks up with the great artworks of this millenium. Perfect.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
best cd and yet it didn't receive a high rating. o well i dont want them to go mainstream and sell out so its ok that ppl dont like them.
Bob Dole gave it a10:
why the heck isn't the rating for this album higher? amazing.
ya right gave it a10:
one of the best records of the 90s in my opinion. sounds alot like their first great record theres nothing wrong with love. simply amazing!!
Rich C gave it a 10:
It didn't take long for me to grow to love this album as one of my favorites. One of the most rewarding albums I have ever listened to.
