Doug Martsch

About half a minute into the loose-limbed slide guitar figure of "Window," a track on Doug Martsch’s excellent new solo album, Now You Know, a child’s voice asks, "How long do I have to do it?" The story behind this curious moment reveals much about how the album came to life and the essential humanity of the music on it.

"It’s my kid, Ben," the Built To Spill frontman admits, a bit sheepishly. "I recorded the album at home, and one morning he wanted to do something on it. So he was kind of shaking this stick and I started recording, and he got tired of doing it right away, so he asked if he could stop." Rather than sounding like someone’s precious answering machine message, the quick snatch of voice blends into the overall organic, unguarded quality of the album.

What may be surprising to many BTS fans is the album’s elemental aesthetic, which is in contrast to the rich, complex sound of most Built To Spill records. "Yeah, I think that’s a real strength of Built To Spill, that layering of sound and overdubbing," Martsch notes. "This new record is all based on my sitting around learning how to play a slide. I was listening to a lot of acoustic blues music. Then I set up a studio at home, and it just happened."

Martsch originally thought the songs would be used for the Halo Benders, an ongoing joint side-project with Beat Happenings’ Calvin Johnson. "Calvin and I got together, both bringing new songs. But very soon I felt like I didn’t have anything to add to his songs, and I felt like I was happy with mine. It was a gradual process."

Once recording began at his Boise, Idaho home, Martsch took an experimental approach to the actual recording. "I just tried different things," he recalls. "To get the right guitar sound I lined up all the microphones I had, which was about eight, and then listened to each one to see which was best. I ended up using them all."

Another, more subtle difference to the new record is the lyrics. While his lyrics in the past have often been impressionistic and esoteric, Now You Know finds him taking a more direct approach. "I wanted the songs to have important lyrics. Like the blues songs I was listening to, full of simple wisdom. But I couldn’t get myself to do it so I relied on my wife Karena for help."

The result is a literate mix of songs, like the insightful central metaphor of "Sleeve" and the haunting "Dream." "That’s about that lucid moment when you’re first going to sleep.…Those dreams that drive home our mortality."

Longtime fans can rest assured that Martsch plans to regroup with Built To Spill in early 2003 to start working on a new album. Until then, a rare solo tour will support the new disc.