Go ahead, rave about Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., and Modest Mouse. Until you get to Built to Spill — influenced by the first two and often compared to the third — I ain’t listening. Since 1994’s breakthrough There’s Nothing Wrong with Love, the Idaho guitar-god powerhouse has steadily enhanced its status in the indie-rock canon. You in Reverse is predictably awesome, yet unexpectedly out-there: Following a bluesy solo album and five years since the last proper BTS record, Ancient Melodies of the Future, frontman Doug Martsch has clearly rediscovered his wah-wah pedal and secret stash. Opener “Goin’ Against Your Mind” is seven minutes of Check-out-this-bitchin’-jam-we-wrote excellence, “Conventional Wisdom” is a dual-guitar free-for-all that warbles on for another six-plus minutes postclimax, and “Mess with Time” is furious surf-rock funk over a ska rhythm. Postmodern face-melting is the very best kind, and You in Reverse flaunts it better than anything else you’ll hear this year.
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