Unsung indie-rock heroes: Built to Spill

(Published by Planet JH Weekly)In the mid 90’s, Built to Spill (one of the best band names of all-time) picked up where Dinosaur Jr. was beginning to fade, joining a progressing indie-rock medium that included bands such as Pavement. Pop elements and noisy, spacious jamming reminiscent of Crazy Horse were at the core of singer/songwriter/guitarist Doug Martsch’s approach. Built to Spill was created as a vehicle for Martsch to rotate band members and consequently, the band’s sound.Martsch founded Built to Spill in Boise in 1992 after parting ways with alt-rock band Treepeople. After releasing two albums on indie labels, Built to Spill signed with Warner Brothers in 1997 and released what many consider to be the band’s finest album, Perfect From Now On. Dynamic song construction that ran past the six-minute mark and shifted through multiple sections along with guitar-oriented sonic textures were combined with the pop sensibilities. Apparently smart on the business side as well, Martsch secured the major label deal with the caveat that the band would retain creative control over future albums.From quieter love songs to stellar guitar soloing, punk-rock aesthetics, and jangly melodic hooks, Martsch’s songwriting would ebb and flow over the coarse of eight total albums. By the late 90’s, the band had a devout following and was one of the most recognizable indie rock bands in the U.S. Their sound simplified with 2001’s Ancient Melodies of the Future. Production moved from raw to warm and guitar jams would occasionally hammer away at the same riff for minutes. It would be until 2006 until another album was released, and the band’s latest is 2009’s There is No Enemy. The latter set finds Martsch’s vocals more refined and a return to the dreamy elements and elaborate production that often takes the band over a year to complete.“As a youngster I liked just all kinds of weird sounds. I was more willing to explore things that didn’t make sense…I’d add a bunch of stuff and that would take some attention away from the vocals or something like that,” Martsch told Tiny Mix Tapes last year. “You know, with like old songs of ours, if a song was happy or sad or something, I never felt that way. I didn’t feel like there was a tone to the songs. I just sort of wrote them and was more about making melodies and chord progressions than words. It was not so much about the tone; it was how it felt. And, I would just sort of strum it out and add things to it to fill it up, but now I’m more concerned with making things concise.”This will be Built to Spill’s first show of a forty-date tour. Built to Spill, 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Pink Garter Theatre. Slam Dunk and Genders open. All ages. $20/advance, $23/day-of-show at The Rose, Pinky G’s and PinkGarterTheatre.com.