SLCene Suggests: Built to Spill at The Urban Lounge

BUILT TO SPILL, THE URBAN LOUNGE, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 8 p.m., $20

For years I considered Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch a sort of indie-rock Neil Young, a songsmith capable of producing epic beauty or noise-filled guitar jams with equal ease. I’m sure Martsch’s cover of “Cortez The Killer” was a heavy influence on that line of thinking. Lately, though, Built to Spill is reminding me more of Boston, the classic rockers who became legendary for taken years and years between releases. So it’s been of late with Martsch and Co., who haven’t released any new music since 2009’s There Is No Enemy. After being relatively prolific early in the band’s career, they have only put out two sets of new music since 1999, and a lineup shift less than a year ago seems to have slowed the band’s pace; when I saw Built to Spill roughly a year ago, there was talk of new music in 2013. Looks like that will have to wait til next year, but I’m not complaining. The Boise-based band, regular visitors to Salt Lake City, has the kind of excellent back catalog that makes for an excellent show no matter what year it is, or whether or not there are any new tunes in the set. Slam Dunk and Genders open the show.