November 18, 1999
Although the title sounds facile or defensive, it ultimately comes across as songwriter Doug Martsch's half-desperate attempt to convince himself it's true - there's a core of sadness to his compact, stunningly gorgeous songs that recognize the fleeting nature of happiness.
Martsch shares more than a little in common with Neil Young - a high, reedy voice pitted against idiosyncratic, often searing guitar work, coupled with a uniquely childlike, deceptively simple lyrical approach that hits with poetic force. In subsequent albums, Built to Spill would veer into the dark, meandering territory mapped out by Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand", but here the songs are intensely focused (many only 2 or 3 minutes long) yet feel, and this is a very good thing, much longer. Why? Martsch's song architecture is as odd as M.C. Escher's woodcuts - choruses, bridges and verses fold in on themselves, songs abruptly segue or end with no warning, but it's all in service of his potent narrative and it feels perfect every time. Pavement-styled fractured outbursts, subtle string sections, unexpected chord progressions, sideswipe tempo shifts and twisted glistening melodies manage to make both delicate pop seem anthemic and dexterous guitar anthems feel emotionally fragile. Amazing.
Looking this over, I realize again that I often find writing about albums I truly love much harder than albums I merely like a lot; so eager am I to communicate my passion that I'm reduced to just twisting the volume dial to 11, pointing at the speakers and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. All you really need to know is that There's Nothing Wrong With Love is rich in detail, emotionally honest and genuinely moving. What else do we ask of Art?
- Jared O'Connor
indie-pop landmark