Built to Spill were one of the most popular indie rock acts of the '90s, finding the middle ground between postmodern,
Pavement-style pop and the loose, spacious jamming of
Neil Young. From the outset, the band was a vehicle for singer/songwriter/guitarist
Doug Martsch, who -- heavily inspired by
Dinosaur Jr.'s
J Mascis -- helped keep alive the concept of the indie guitar hero. On record,
Martsch the arranger 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. Their early records betrayed some punk scrappiness around the edges, but as
Martsch's songwriting matured he was able to crank out complicated, emotionally wracked songs that melted hearts as easily as they did speakers. The artistic success of 1994's
There's Nothing Wrong with Love led to the band signing a deal with Warner Bros. where they released a string of albums highlighted by alt-rock classics
Perfect from Now On and
Keep It Like a Secret. As they got further from the '90s, and as albums appeared infrequently, the group's work still delivered the same mix of guitar heroics and heartfelt songwriting as 2015's
Untethered Moon, which sounds remarkably similar to their early work, proves.
The band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1993, shortly after
Martsch had departed the Boise-rooted, Seattle-based
Treepeople.
Martsch had grown up in Twin Falls, Idaho, where he formed his first band, Farm Days, with bassist
Brett Nelson and drummer Andy Capps while in high school during the mid-'80s. After moving to Boise,
Martsch hooked up with former members of the local hardcore punk band State of Confusion to form
Treepeople, which relocated to Seattle in 1988. There they signed with the local indie C/Z and issued several albums and EPs that offered a distinctive take on early Northwestern grunge. Eventually tiring of the band's far-ranging touring commitments,
Martsch departed after 1993's
Just Kidding album, and despite the continuing boom of the Seattle scene, he returned to Boise to refresh himself.
Martsch formed the first incarnation of
Built to Spill with bassist/guitarist
Brett Netson (also a member of Boise scenesters
Caustic Resin) and drummer Ralf Youtz. Initially maintaining a 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 moved the band over to another Seattle indie, Up Records, and revamped the rhythm section, in keeping with his plan to make
Built to Spill a loose aggregation that would allow him to work with a variety of musicians. This time, he was joined by bassist
Brett Nelson (not
Netson, but his old cohort from Farm Days) and drummer Andy Capps (also from Farm Days, who'd joined
Nelson in a group called
Butterfly Train).
Accompanied by cellist
John McMahon and guest spots from several ex-
Treepeople,
Built to Spill scored a creative breakthrough with 1994's acclaimed
There's Nothing Wrong with Love. With the help of producer/engineer
Phil Ek, who would become the band's regular collaborator,
Martsch's fragmentary songwriting aesthetic and detailed arrangements really hit their stride, resulting in a minor gem of quirky 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 first of three albums as
the Halo Benders.
Martsch formed a new lineup of
Built to Spill with former
Lync rhythm section
James Bertram (bass) and
Dave Schneider (drums), but this incarnation existed only for a series of live gigs in America and Europe during 1995, which included a stint on the second stage of that summer's Lollapalooza tour.
The positive response to
There's Nothing Wrong with Love -- coupled with the increased exposure of Lollapalooza -- helped create a buzz around
Built to Spill, and before 1995 was out,
Martsch inked a deal with Warner Bros. that promised a good amount of creative control. In the meantime, he and
Brett Nelson reunited with
Brett Netson and several other members of
Caustic Resin for a collaborative (not split) EP on Up, titled
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 most 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, but found that the chemistry was wrong for the more expansive songs he was trying to write. He brought back
Brett Nelson and recruited former
Spinanes drummer
Scott Plouf, and re-recorded most of the album, only to have the master tapes damaged. The third re-recording was the charm, and featured guest guitar work by
Brett Netson to boot. Finally released in 1997,
Perfect from Now On was a set of longer, moodier songs that once again earned positive reviews, and substantially expanded the band's growing fan base.
Tired of continually re-teaching the band's repertoire,
Martsch subsequently made
Nelson and
Plouf permanent members of
Built to Spill. Material for their next album was, for the first time, worked out through collaborative effort in (mostly) full-band jam sessions. Despite those origins,
Keep It Like a Secret emerged as the tightest batch of songs on any
Built to Spill record yet, and was greeted with some of their most enthusiastic reviews to date when it appeared in 1999; it also became their first to reach the pop charts. New supporting cast member
Sam Coomes -- also of
Quasi, formerly of
Heatmiser -- contributed keyboard work. In response to demand from fans, the
Live album was culled from the supporting tour, featuring additional guitar work from
Brett Netson and longtime band cohort
Jim Roth; assembled from three different gigs by
Ek, it was released in 2000.
The proper studio follow-up 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 breather to release
Now You Know, a solo album on which he delved into more traditional folk and blues. After a long break from releasing records, the revamped group (now a quartet comprising
Martsch,
Nelson,
Plouf, and
Roth with additional help from the guitar-playing
Brett Netson) stormed back with one of the finest records of their career, 2006's
You in Reverse.
Built to Spill resumed touring just after its release, and began recording for their next album later that year, although the results came in the form of a single, 2007's "They Got Away." The band entered the studio once again in 2008, recording
There Is No Enemy with production from
Martsch and David Trumfio. The album appeared in October of 2009 and the band spent some time touring behind it. They next appeared on a tribute album to
the Smiths (
Please, Please, Please), covering "Reel Around the Fountain." While in the early stages of recording their next album,
Plouf and
Nelson quit the band and their roadie
Jason Albertini (otherwise known as a former member of
Duster) joined on bass, while their live sound engineer,
Steve Gere, became their drummer. The group then scrapped what had already been recorded, starting over with the new lineup and
Sam Coomes co-producing with
Martsch. Still with Warner Bros. after many years, the label released their eighth studio album,
Untethered Moon, in early 2015. After the band finished touring behind the record.
Martsch decided to overhaul the lineup. The trio of
Martsch,
Albertini, and
Gere embarked on a West Coast tour in 2016, and in 2018 were lucky enough to serve as
Daniel Johnston's backing band for two shows. Soon after that,
Martsch announced that he was shifting to a revolving bandmember set-up, adding bassists and guitarists as needed. Bassist Melanie Radford and drummer Teresa Esguerra joined the band for a tour in 2019 celebrating the 20th anniversary of
Keep It Like a Secret. The next year they released Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston, a faithful covers album recorded during rehearsals for the 2018 concerts. Having left Warner Bros. in 2017 after a long run, the album was released by Ernest Jenning Recording Co. ~ Steve Huey