at a glance...

Hometown: Boise, ID
Year Formed: circa 1992

Personnel:
Doug Martsch -vocals, guitar, moog
Brett Nelson -bass, moog
Scott Plouf -drums, piano, moog
...and several supporting musicians

Bands In The Family:
Farm Days, The Treepeople, Quasi, Caustic Resin, The Halo Benders, The Spinanes

Notes:
Over twelve years in the making, Built To Spill is the third incarnation of Doug Martsch's endeavors. Doug's first band was Farm Days, a duo that started putting out demos with only guitar and bass. In 1989, Treepeople was formed with Doug and ex-members of State Of Confusion. Treepeople put out a few records and became quite popular but eventually dissolved. Built To Spill made its debut in 1993 with Ultimate Alternative Wavers and broke more than a few hearts with their second album There's Nothing Wrong With Love. Perfect From Now On was their major label debut with Warner Bros. 1999's Keep I Like A Secret strengthened their already phenomenal popularity and paved the way for their latest release, Live, culled from three '99 performances.

Links:
Interview with Doug Martsch
Built To Spill Mothership
Built To Spill Photo Gallery
We Love Built To Spill

This aptly titled major level debut marks a new point in Built to Spill's career. Gone are the sugar-coated poppy gems that saturated previous albums like There's Nothing Wrong With Love. Instead, Doug Martsch floods this album with a more mature yet languished approach to songwriting. Perfect From Now On is super jangly guitar rock with a self confidence problem.

The songs on this album are comparatively much more complex. Cello, moog and mellotron provide a luscious backdrop for the album's psychedelic guitar feel. Martsch's ability to constantly reinvent the pop song comes through in this album - he takes the listener through a hypnotic, dizzying stadium rock feel to that of rainy Sunday afternoons where there's not one damn good movie on anywhere. Martsch's guitar and voice seem married to the same looming theme. In "Randy Described Eternity" gentle guitar and bass come in together and set the mood for Martsch's searching voice. Perfect From Now On is just that.

If you like Perfect From Now On, check out:
Built To Spill Live
Built To Spill The Normal Years
Built To Spill There's Nothing Wrong With Love
Built To Spill Keep It Like A Secret
Superchunk Indoor Living
Jane's Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual
The Pixies Trompe Le Monde

-- Carey Head