Built to Spill is Built to Last

The pride of Boise, Idaho are back with their seventh album. On Ancient Melodies of the Future, Built to Spill take their sound to a new level. Doug Martsch is the heart and soul of the band. He’s the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is soft spoken, shies away from media attention, and has become an indie hero.

Ancient Melodies of the Future picks up where Built to Spill’s last studio album (1999’s Keep It Like A Secret) left off. It confronts themes like alienation, emotional yearning, and the things that happen between two people when they’re not looking. Martsch is known for being a tireless perfectionist in the studio, but loosened up a bit this time around. He says, I stopped trying to make things sound like I thought they should, because I realized that it’s really not feasible unless you have forever to record. Even with simple ideas, you can spend so much time trying to get the ideas across that you end up wasting time in the studio and still not ending up making sound like you want it to. It just seems impossible to make a record that sounds like you envisioned it. I’ve found that a song will just evolve when you have it in the studio, and even though you realize that it’s not the song you had in mind, it becomes this other thing and then you figure out ways to make it cooler.”

Built To Spill was formed in 1993 after Martsch left the Tree People. He was the only full-time member of the band at first, and enlisted friends to help him play. Ultimate Alternative Wavers was the group’s debut in 1993, followed by 1994’s There’s Nothing Wrong With Love. There was a revolving door of sidemen until 1997, when the band’s current lineup of Martsch, bass player Brett Nelson and drummer Scott Plouf was solidified. They were signed to a major label deal with Warner Brothers and released 1997’s Perfect From Now On. 1999’s Keep It Like A Secret won much critical praise, and they released a live album in 2000.

Since 1994, producer Phil Ek has been an important part of the band’s success. Martsch says, Phil is a huge part of the whole thing. He makes the records sound the way they do.”

Ancient Melodies of the Future has a looser feel than the Built To Spill’s previous work, but doesn’t sacrifice melody. Melody is what I’m best at, explains Martsch. Coming up with melodies that are interesting. Not just vocal melodies, but other instrumentation melodies. I think the music I like most these days has people that aren’t necessarily good songwriters but are really good singers and really good players, like old blues players and soul singers and stuff. But since I’m not really able to pull that stuff off, I have to make do with having things you can do in a recording studio, like multi-tracking things. I try to make things interesting without having a beautiful voice.

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