Built To Spill

Built To Spill: Once revered by the indie cognoscenti as the new messiah, Built to Spill founder Doug Martsch and his revolving lineup consistently deliver skewed pop made of bold guitars and Martsch's adolescent croon. There's Nothing Wrong with Love (1994), went a long way towards shaping the sound of early indie rock, while Perfect From Now On (1997) saw Martsch and friends experimenting with longer prog rock arrangements. Keep It Like a Secret (1999) marked a return to more focused pop, while the band's live shows sought to balance the epic with the concise. One of these sets (which includes a 20-minute nod to Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer") was finally documented on 2000's Live. Another trip to the studio in 2001, resulted in Ancient Melodies of the Future, featuring the group's signature spiraling guitars, reigned in by irresistible melodies. After that, Martsch took a break from BTS to play basketball, catch up on his reading and listen to old blues records. It would be five long years before the finishing touches were sprinkled on You in Reverse (2006), the band's most collaborative recording to date, and one that even tosses in reggae rhythm into its prodigious guitar solos and epic choruses.