Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
62
50 Cent
70
AFI
65
Air
70
Alice In Chains
55
Kris Allen
78
Amerie
79
Annie
76
Anti-Pop Consortium
75
Arctic Monkeys
82
Atlas Sound
77
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
59
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
71
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan
72
Beak>
84
Biffy Clyro
72
The Big Pink
95
Big Star
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
72
The Black Heart Procession
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
53
Bon Jovi
76
A.A. Bondy
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
83
Brother Ali
72
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
77
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
78
Califone
69
Mariah Carey
81
Brandi Carlile
72
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash
71
Castanets
82
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
64
Exene Cervenka
79
Vic Chesnutt
81
Circulatory System
67
The Clean
84
The Clientele
72
Cold Cave
85
Converge
76
The Cribs
79
Cymbals Eat Guitars
62
Dashboard Confessional
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
77
Del The Funky Homosapien & Tame One
73
Do Make Say Think
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
67
Bob Dylan
58
Echo & The Bunnymen
61
Electric Six
44
The Entrance Band
69
Fanfarlo
71
Jay Farrar And Benjamin Gibbard
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
66
Orenda Fink
79
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
65
Calvin Harris
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
67
Hockey
67
Whitney Houston
80
Hudson Mohawke
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
68
Daniel Johnston
76
Norah Jones
77
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
75
Kid Sister
66
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
63
Mark Knopfler
73
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
85
Miranda Lambert
67
Adam Lambert
71
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
64
Leona Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt
74
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
83
Patty Loveless
73
Lyle Lovett
79
Lucero
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna
85
Manic Street Preachers
61
Maps
73
Mario
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
62
John Mayer
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
75
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
75
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
66
Morrissey
76
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
82
Nirvana
96
Nirvana
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
64
OneRepublic
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
78
Osso
67
Alec Ounsworth
81
Owen
73
Paramore
78
Pastels And Tenniscoats
80
Pearl Jam
69
Jemina Pearl
65
Phish
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
72
Port O'Brien
79
Q-Tip
79
R.E.M.
88
Raekwon
69
Rain Machine
75
Dizzee Rascal
74
The Raveonettes
79
Real Estate
76
Rihanna
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela
66
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
78
Russian Circles
69
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
78
Say Anything
71
Shakira
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
58
Spiral Stairs
55
Steel Panther
75
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
68
Joss Stone
83
Barbra Streisand
77
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
79
The Swell Season
80
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees
80
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
78
The Dutchess & The Duke
71
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
74
Them Crooked Vultures
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
73
Frank Turner
71
The Twilight Sad
60
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
69
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
70
Kurt Vile
65
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
73
Rufus Wainwright
78
Wale
57
Weezer
81
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
69
Robbie Williams
59
Andrew W.K.
65
Wolfmother
84
The xx
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band
52
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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.
