Artist: Built to Spill Genre(s):
Indie
Discography:
Ancient Melodies of the Future Year: 2001
Tracks: 10
Keep It Like a Secret Year: 1999
Tracks: 10
Perfect From Now On Year: 1997
Tracks: 8
There's Nothing Wrong With Love Year: 1994
Tracks: 13
Built to Spill was one of the most popular indie rock acts of the Apostles of the '90s, finding the middle ground between postmodernist, Pavement-style pop and the loose, spacious electronic jamming of Neil Young. From the get-go, the banding was a vehicle for Doug Martsch, world Health Organization revived the concept of the indie guitar hero precisely as Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis -- another important influence -- was rootage to pass off from the limelight. On disc, Martsch the adapter crafted intricate, artfully knotted tangles of guitar; in concert, his rough-edged soloing heroics earned Built to Spill a reputation as an exciting and unpredictable live act. Much like Pavement, Martsch's compositions were filled with fractured song structures and melodies, much swerving dead into modern sections with little attention to continuity or traditional class. (In fact, the difficulty of Martsch's songs helped force him to give up his original intention of working with many different lineups, since the twists and turns were difficult to master.) His lyrics had all the loopy wit and pop culture references of many a '90s shirker icon, simply Martsch changed things up with a unfeigned wistfulness borrowed from Mascis' and Young's more than introspective moments. Unlike Pavement, Built to Spill was ne'er hailed as rock's next majuscule leslie Townes Hope; they were neither as rotatory nor as eclecticist, and their music -- with its winding instrumental passages and less immediate building -- requisite more feat to engross. Instead, they remained even more than firmly resistance, where their irregular approach enjoyed tremendous support from the indie close.
Reinforced to Spill was formed in Boise, ID, in 1993, in brief afterward Martsch had foregone the Boise-rooted, Seattle-based Treepeople. Martsch had grownup up in Twin Falls, ID, where he formed his number one band, Farm Days, with bassist Brett Nelson and drummer Andy Capps piece in heights shoal during the mid-'80s. After moving to Boise, Martsch hooked up with former members of the local hardcore hoodlum band State of Confusion to variant Treepeople, which resettled to Seattle in 1988. There they signed with the local indie C/Z and issued several albums and EPs that offered a typical submit on early Northwestern grease. Eventually tiring of the band's far-ranging touring commitments, Martsch foregone afterward 1993's
Scarcely Kidding record album, and disdain the continuing manna from heaven of the Seattle scene, he returned to Boise to refresh himself.
Martsch formed the first-class honours degree avatar of Built to Spill with bassist/guitarist Brett Netson (likewise a penis of Boise scenesters Caustic Resin) and drummer Ralf Youtz. Initially maintaining a human relationship with C/Z, Built to Spill debuted on record in 1993 with
Ultimate Alternative Wavers, on which Martsch billed himself as "Dug." Afterward, Martsch affected the band over to some other Seattle indie, Up Records, and revamped the speech rhythm section, in safekeeping with his be after to make Built to Spill a loose aggregation that would allow for him to process with a miscellany of musicians. This time, he was united by bassist Brett Nelson (non Netson, only his quondam cohort from Farm Days) and drummer Andy Capps (likewise from Farm Days, who'd united Nelson in a grouping called Butterfly Train).
Accompanied by violoncellist John McMahon and invitee muscae volitantes from various ex-Treepeople, Built to Spill scored a originative discovery with 1994's acclaimed
There's Nothing Wrong with Love. With the aid of producer/engineer Phil Ek, wHO would become the band's regular quisling, Martsch's fragmentary songwriting esthetic and elaborated arrangements really hit their footstep, resulting in a underage gem of kinky indie guitar pop. The same year, Martsch formed a side project with Beat Happening frontman and K Records honcho Calvin Johnson, and they recorded the number one of tierce albums as the Halo Benders. Martsch formed a fresh lineup of Built to Spill with former Lync speech rhythm section James Bertram (bass) and Dave Schneider (drums), only this embodiment existed only for a series of resilient gigs in America and Europe during 1995, which included a stint on the second stage of that summer's Lollapalooza circuit.
The convinced response to
There's Nothing Wrong with Love -- coupled with the increased exposure of Lollapalooza -- helped create a buzz some Built to Spill, and ahead 1995 was out, Martsch inked a deal with Warner Brothers that promised a safe quantity of originative control. In the meanwhile, he and Brett Nelson reunited with Brett Netson and respective former members of Caustic Resin for a collaborative (not split) EP on Up, coroneted
Built to Spill Caustic Resin. In early 1996, K Records issued a compilation of rarities and outtakes,
The Normal Years, that spanned 1993-1995 and featured work by almost of the band's lineups. Martsch then turned his attention to recording Built to Spill's major-label debut. At first, he started working with drummer Peter Lansdowne and no bassist, only base that the chemistry was wrong for the more than talkative songs he was stressful to write. He brought back Brett Nelson and recruited early Spinanes drummer Scott Plouf, and re-recorded most of the album, only if to suffer the sea captain tapes damaged. The third base re-recording was the charm, and featured guest guitar work by Brett Netson to boot. Finally released in 1997,
Utter from Now On was a set of thirster, moodier songs that once again earned positive reviews, and substantially expanded the band's growing winnow base.
Old-hat of continually reteaching the band's repertoire, Martsch subsequently made Nelson and Plouf permanent members of Built to Spill. Material for their adjacent album was, for the start clock time, worked out through collaborative crusade -- by and large full-band pile sessions. Despite those origins,
Keep It Like a Secret emerged as the tightest batch of songs on whatever Built to Spill criminal record so far, and was greeted with some of their most enthusiastic reviews to date when it appeared in 1999; it besides became their first base to attain the pop charts. New load-bearing project phallus Sam Coomes -- also of Quasi, at one time of Heatmiser -- contributed keyboard work. In reception to demand from fans, the
Live album was culled from the encouraging circuit, featuring additional guitar work from Brett Netson and longtime banding age bracket Jim Roth; assembled from trey different gigs by Ek, it was released in 2000. The proper studio apartment followup to
Keep It Like a Secret arrived with 2001's
Ancient Melodies of the Future; critical responses ranged from enthusiasm to indifference. The following year, Martsch took a schnorchel to waiver
Now You Know, a solo album on which he delved into more than traditional family and blues. After a long break from releasing records, the revamped group (now a quartet comprised of Martsch, Nelson, Plouf, and Roth with extra avail from the guitar-playing Brett Netson) stormed back with one of the finest records of their calling, 2006's
You in Reverse.
