Built to Spill has always been political, but never like this. There Is No Enemy’s opener, “Aisle 13,” uses the phrase “Cleanup in aisle 13” as a loose conceit for America. It’s a song about passing the buck which is sort of what Mr. Martsch does in writing a song about it. Most of There Is No Enemy is entrenched in this brand of whiny finger pointing that I’ve never heard from this band. “Hindsight” is a song about universal healthcare with front man and perpetual fifteen-year-old Martsch at the megaphone for the coda “What about Canada?” It’s an album that means well, but even the title forces a sense of guilt on the audience for their part in creating the current state of American life. I liked it better when the “you” in Built to Spill songs were about the girls Doug knew in high school, or a really selfish guy, but then he got on the Change train and loaded up the alienation gun. It’s kind of funny because every one of these songs sound like other Built to Spill songs, which is probably due to the latest trend in dinosaur indie bands: the “everyone says this is our best album so we’re going to play it all the way through” tour. There Is No Enemy is basically Perfect From Now On for politicians.

Tags: built to spill, review, there is no enemy