Back in 2001 when Doug Martsch and company released Built To Spill's Ancient Melodies of the Future, it was the first time in their then eight-year history where I felt like they had released an album where they were burnt out and just didn't care. My instincts proved to be correct, because when their obligatory tour concluded, Martsch put his nearest and dearest three-piece project on indefinite hiatus.

Skip ahead to Fall of 2002, and Martsch released his first solo album, the Folk-Blues slide-guitar influenced Now You Know, a major departure away from the heavily influenced Neil Young electric-guitar sound Martsch was known for. I remember seeing him on that tour and he looked more confident and relaxed than I had ever seen him.

Now You Know must have been the fuel that lit the inner inspirational fire, because Built To Spill hit the road in 2004 and didn't stop touring for a year and a half. When they finally took the exit ramp, it was to go directly into the studio to start work on their first album in five years, the recently released You In Reverse.

Touring guitarist Jim Roth joined the band for the first time ever in the studio, and what has transpired is the first album where Built To Spill is an actual four-piece. That extra person has made all the difference in the world, because You In Reverse is an electric-guitar Rock behemoth. Seven out of the ten tracks here crack the five minute mark and they are all the better for it, none better than first track and crown jewel of the album, the nine minute explosion of "Goin' Against Your Mind." Next track "Traces" starts slowly enough with its xylophone heavy beginnings, but by the end of the track the guitar work is simply blistering. Even the tracks that don't feature heavy guitar solos work well too. "Liar" sounds like a better R.E.M. song than anything off their last album and "Saturday" is a precious number with Martsch's vocals never sounding better. If taking five years off from recording is what it takes to get an album this astounding from Built To Spill these days, then I'm all for it. You'll be hard pressed to find a better Classic-Rock influenced album so far this year and I'm pretty sure nothing is even gonna come close to beating it by the end.