Indie rock that’s snarky for the purpose of maintaining a humane side. Built to Spill’s best album aims to find relatable fatalism in old classic rock standards (“You Were Right”), attempts to bridge the disconnect between solipsistic words and empathetic meaning (“Center of the Universe”), and tries to fix something — an idea, a relationship, a life — only to botch it beyond redemption (“Carry the Zero”). And all the while Doug Martsch’s guitar lets you know with kaleidoscopic keening just how much that tears him up.

– Nate Patrin