Since Doug Martsch left the Treepeople in 1992 to develop his own project Built To Spill, he has been the creative force behind some of the finest melodic guitar music to come out of America this decade. Built to Spill first came to our attention in 1995 when their second full length album "There's Nothing Wrong With Love" was released in the UK, supported by two fine attention grabbing singles 'Car and 'In The Morning', and a bizarre mismatched tour with the Foo Fighters. However, their most recent release, 'Perfect From Now On' is a huge progression on from its predecessor. The songs are longer yet the arrangements are more intense, with Moog, mellotron and string parts all adding colour to Martsch's songs. Released back in February, it stood out as the first great album of 1997, and had the critics comparing it to Mercury Rev, Sebadoh, the Flaming Lips and even late 60s Beatles. I caught up with Doug on the phone from his home in Boise, Idaho, (it's where he was born and grew up, it's French for 'city of trees' apparently, and the rumours about potatoes are a myth) and asked him the obvious question; Why has there been such a big change in sound between this new album and it's predecessor?
"The idea behind the band from the get-go was to change the line-up and the sound for every release. All the records we've made have been with different people. Beyond that,... instrumentation wise, we had cello on the last record and we've kept that. I got a Moog since that so I played it a little, and the mellotron is another new addition - somewhere between the Moog and the cello."
Is it really a band, or is it just Doug Marsch's solo project with a different name?
"You could have said that, but it really is a band now because the rhythm section from the new record is permanently in the line-up now, so it's funny because it was a definite policy to change the music and line-up around until now! For different reasons I did that, and for different reasons I'm stopping doing that."
Is that part of the reason you left Treepeople, was it not moving on enough for you?
"No! I was really into the Treepeople but they weren't that into me cos I didn't want to tour very much. That's why that stopped, although I was totally into them at the time!"
Bar a few dates in the US I know that you're choosing not to tour with this new album either. Your last UK gigs were with the Foo Fighters - that must have been strange!
"Exactly! At the time we agreed to do the tour they weren't huge, and I didn't think that they would be. I also thought there would be as many Sunny Day Real Estate fans (the band in which two Foos previously earned a crust) as there would be Nirvana fans at the shows. However, by the time we got over they were huge and kids yelled at us and threw stuff, so it was pretty horrible!"
What was the idea behind doing longer arrangements and louder songs this time around?
"I don't really know what the idea was! When I make music it's a really long thought process, and various thoughts come and go. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this record is what it is. There were sweeter songs on the last record, and even some harder lyrical statements were softened by the arrangements I suppose - in the context of that record they had a happier feel."
How did you feel about the recent compilation of bits and bobs which came out on K?
"That was just a case of Calvin Johnson (K records supremo) asking me if he could issue it and I said "fine". I'm not particularly proud of a lot of that stuff but I think people should have the right to own it without paying huge prices."
You're friends with Calvin - you were in the Halo Benders with him, weren't you?
"I didn't know him a few years ago, but Treepeople played a show with Beat Happening (Calvin's old band) and I totally fell in love with them. After I recorded the first Built to Spill record ('Ultimate Alternative Wavers') I sent him a copy cos I knew he wasn't into the Treepeople but it thought he might like BTS, and also to see if we could get together. So the Halo Benders came along between the first and second Built To Spill records as a side project."
Is it any different being on a major label in the States (in Europe its City Slang)?
"I'm pretty indifferent to it, apart from I get a bunch of money to record and I don't need to tour a lot. I mean I don't have to play live regardless, but it gives me the opportunity to let them figure out other ways to sell the record!"
This time around the songs are looser - have you changed your songwriting approach?
"It's always been my songs and my own and other people's embellishments. Things like rhythm sections - in certain areas I would have specific things for them to do, and in other areas they just did what they wanted. On this new record it's the same sort of thing. The cello and mellotron and Brett Netson's guitar are all versions of me telling them what I want and them doing what they think is needed!"
As we chat on and on we get talking about subjects like Doug's fondness for bands like Caustic Resin and the recently deceased Kicking Giant, and the awfulness of regional music and radio in the North West US. He comes across as someone with not a lot of time for the routine of the music biz, he's happier to chat off the record than on it, and happy to stay at home with his girlfriend Karena and young son rather than tour with his band. Still, as long as he keeps creating masterpieces like 'Perfect From Now On' we should have no problem with that.