Keep It Like A Secret by Built To Spill

by Lana Fleischli

You might know of the reason that I began listening to albums every week. Basically, last summer, my mom wanted me to know more about music, and understand it. The other part, however, was that she wanted me to understand my dad better.

My dad has been ill my whole life. His memory doesn’t work, and I don’t see him very much. The thing is, he always remembers music. So, I wanted to be able to understand how important it is to him, and I also wanted to listen to things that I have been wanting to listen to, or that my mom, or my friends want me to listen to. 

This week I wasn’t sure what to listen to, so I circled back to why I started this in the first place, my dad. There are so many bands he loves, but most of them I’ve listened to, or need to spend more time on, but I hadn’t yet listened to Built To Spill. 

Keep It Like A Secret once again has so many pieces that I really love in music. I love the feeling it has. “The Plan” comes out of the gate super strong with a powerful voice, and that great ‘90s vibe-- a fast-paced chord progression. “The Plan” has a happy and angry energy when it comes to the voice and guitar. It gets a little distorted, but it also can be very high energy. 

Another thing I like about Keep It Like A Secret is how smart it is. I didn’t catch the references in “You Were Right” the first time. My mom pointed it out to me. After that, it seemed so obvious. It has references to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, The Doors, and many others. I think it’s so cool how smart the writing is. 

When I listened to Keep It Like A Secret, I remembered seeing Built to Spill play almost four years ago at FYF. They played “Fling”, which is not on this album, but it’s a great song. I remember not seeing much of their set, because I tried to do a handstand, and fell flat on my face. I got a black eye. 

Since then, every time I’ve seen the picture of me with he black eye come up in my camera roll, I’ve always told myself to listen to Keep It Like A Secret. After four years, I finally did it. I really liked it, and knowing that my dad likes it too, makes me feel more connected to him in a way.