Keep It Like a Secret is the fourth studio album released by American indie rock band Built to Spill, and their second for Warner Bros. Records. The initial tracks for the album were recorded in November 1997 at Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, Washington by Phil Ek, with overdubs recorded on mid-1998 at Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, Washington. Keep It Like a Secret was released on February 2, 1999. The album spawned two singles: Carry the Zero and Center of the Universe. After feeling burned out from constructing the lengthy songs on his previous album, Perfect from Now On, Doug Martsch made a conscious decision to write shorter, more concise songs for Keep It Like a Secret. In 1999, Pitchfork ranked the album at number 41 on their "Top Albums of the 90s" list. In a retrospective review published in 2013, Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club called the album "perhaps the best encapsulation of the band's oeuvre and the ever-simmering public response in a single phrase." Pitchfork named the album the best album of 1999. Staff writer Garrett Martin explained: "Built to Spill essentially has two fanbases, the indie-pop kids who loved 1994’s There’s Nothing Wrong With Love and the fans of rock god virtuosity who consider 1997’s sprawling Perfect From Now On to be truly perfect. 1999’s Keep It Like A Secret is the band’s best album because it falls perfectly in-between those two extremes. It’s full of amazingly catchy rock songs with fantastic guitar work and Doug Martsch’s nostalgic lyrics and elegiac, Neil Young-ian voice."
I’m early on this submission it seems, so I can’t quite tell how the broader userbase views this album. Hopefully we agree that this is one of the high watermarks of the 90s (indie) rock scene
10/10, some really top tier 90s indie here - Built to Spill truly is a treasure
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: The plan, Carry the zero, Else
Generic late 90s indie rock sound. You've heard other bands do it better, but you've never heard THIS band do it *just fine*!
This is my favorite BtS album.
Cool album. Best song for me was the last one
Soild 90’s indie rock, happy to see it on the list
I enjoyed it
It’s Built to Spill!
Keep It Like A Secret is good, there are hints of Weezer about them at times I find, and this is well put together and fun to listen to. I liked Sidewalk, Else and Temporarily Blind the most, high 3 or maybe low 4.
I didn’t mind it but I couldn’t remember it to three days later so had very little impact I’m afraid. That’s not to say it wouldn’t have if I gave it more time.
lol I guarantee if I asked ChatGPT to give me an example of the most generic late 90s indie possible, it'd namedrop this. 3/5.
Not tooo bad
Needed some good old Idaho rock to brighten my day, thanks! Keep listening to this music yes. Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away... Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air... Nono this is good music you're right, you are thinking...