AMG Review of Bridges Worth Burning

Charles Spano
All Music Guide

With guest performances by the members of Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Barnett's Kind of Like Spitting comes off like Death Cab when they're angry. Bridges Worth Burning, the band's sixth and most fully realized album, crosses the emotion and sincere teenage angst of Bright Eyes with the jangling attack of Burning Airlines. "We Are Both Writers" shuffles from an upbeat, feel-good rant à la the Violent Femmes to the pained warble of Conor Oberst and "Following Days" takes a cue from Elvis Costello. Though the slow tracks like "I Want Out" just aren't as compelling as the up-tempo numbers, Bridges Worth Burning proves Kind of Like Spitting an indie force to be reckoned with. "Tyco Racing Set and a Christmas Story Fifteen Times This Lemonade Is Terrible" alone is a mini-epic as sprawling as the song's title.