Ahhh didn't know they came before MM, soz.

Weirdly enough Built to Spill and Modest Mouse formed around the same time (Built to Spill a year earlier though) so the influence wasn't really pre-Modest Mouse at all which I found interesting.

Yah, Randy Described Eternity and Velvet Waltz along with I Would Hurt A Fly are the definite highlights.

Modest Mouse released their first EP in 94 though, so Built to Spill only had one release on them at that point but Modest Mouse were pretty amateur pre-96 aside from a few songs.

Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect? all of which later appeared on Sad Sappy Sucker which was going to be their debut but got shelved until 2001.

I don't think its that bad. Sure it sounded more like an experimental and more amateur Guided By Voices album by therein lies the appeal. Four Fingered Fisherman is a good song as are a few others aside from that it's basically for fans only.

yarr, i be joinin ur club

How 'bout that Built To Spill album?

It really annoys me how whenever people discuss 90s indie rock Built to Spill is usually completely left out of the conversation. I mean with There's Nothing Wrong with Love they showed themselves to be pop masters and still able to do some very odd things with it underneath the surface, odd time signatures, weird chords etc. but with this album Built to Spill show straight off how musically ambitious they are, the shortest being under 5 minutes and the longest being just 9 minutes they went completely epic which was pretty opposite of what all that post-pavement weezer/presidents of the USA crap indie bands tended to be doing at the time.

Now I've always been hesitant to listen to this album because I'd seen the words epic thrown around and lots of talk of the guitar work and looking at it was about three times as broad in its scope so I expected some serious overindulgence but I was shocked to find how well it flowed and how they didn't really pompous or bloated to me at all in fact these songs seem to flow together seamlessly and move with the gentle grace of a dancer who is indeed perfect from now on.

I want in. please? i can contribute. i like bands.