Customer Reviews

Now You Know

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Doug is great. He put some serious heart into this album. Definately worth checking out.

This, to me, was a bit disappointing. The change of pace is nice, but the record to me sounds same-y after a while, and it doesn't really hold much interest to me. But this is not an abject failure, and further movements in the acoustic direction by Martsch should be applauded.

This is a really interesting album as a Built to Spill fan. It's obviously Doug Martsch, and his playing style plays through. There are a couple moments where the solos are all Doug the way we've come to love. What's intriguing about it, is that Doug fell in love with the blues. Where most people just say they wish they could play the blues, Doug has learned how, and has added a fantastic open tuned slide guitar to his arsenal of sounds. The album almost exclusively features this, and it's a fantastic modern take on the blues from a very Doug/Indie Rock viewpoint.

Acoustic bliss. Doug Martsch is wonderful.
If you want a record with infinite replay value, get this.

I must admit, I was a little uneasy when I first heard that Doug Martsch, the man behind Built To Spill, had recently released a solo "blues" record after discovering an Alan Lomax recording of Mississippi Fred McDowell. Although anyone who has heard Built to Spill play live knows that Martsch has essentially been mining the blues via classic rock to great effect for some time now, his bread and butter has always been the ability to craft achingly sweet, saccharine flavored pop. So a "blues" record sounded just plain wrong-that is, until I actually heard it.

For the first half of his new record, Now You Know, Martsch mellows around the campfire playing some raw slide, acoustic blues guitar and doing some mighty fine finger pickin'. It's a bit of a change in sound, but nothing near as radical as some would have you believe. The second half of the album plugs in and moves closer to his last two BTS efforts by adding cello, keyboards, drums, bass and vibes to augment his use of the open-tuned slide guitar he picked up from McDowell. And even though the second half of the album is not quite as strong as the first, Now You Know proves itself to be Martsch's most memorable work since Perfect From Now On.

Martsch begins the album with an "Offer." It's one of the most overtly bluesy songs, with the slide sounding like someone sharpening a rusty pair of shears in the woodshed. In it, he stretches out his words and asks "would you, come back down, to a small town, stay with me?" And whether he's addressing his lover or listeners, he seems to be asking for a little patience and support as he attempts to make a new start. The juxtaposition of the bottleneck slide with Martsch's confectionary lyrics creates a strange brew to be sure, but one soon notices that the combination is working. It comes off as some beautiful blues-pop hybrid that is unlike anything one's heard before. And most of the album maintains this level of quality.

It's nearly impossible to pick out highlights from the first half of Now You Know, as every song leaves the listener grinning. "Dream" is a subdued folk blues with hazy backing vocals, while "Gone" varies the sound by adding light percussion to Martsch's heretofore unaccompanied guitar and voice. "Window" introduces an up tempo stomp that is instrumentally reminiscent of Leo Kottke's 6 & 12 String Guitar album (see Vaseline Machine Gun) for the first two minutes. At that point the acoustic guitar fades into an electric guitar playing the same lines, while the drums kick in for extra propulsion. It's a pretty simple but very effective trick. The other songs continue to vary just enough in sound to keep the listener on their toes.

Perhaps the only slip in this record comes on track seven, where Martsch covers a song from Fred McDowell's First Recordings: The Alan Lomax Portrait Series, which was the inspiration for Now You Know. "Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind On Jesus)" is instrumentally sound, but lyrically it just doesn't mesh with the rest of the album. In another context, maybe on a McDowell tribute album, this would be a stand out track. Unfortunately, this old spiritual blues clashes with Martsch's originals in much the same way that the early Stones' covers of R&B tunes sounded a bit awkward in comparison to their own compositions. However, this is just a slight misstep and the rest of the album doesn't falter.

Now You Know closes with "Impossible" and "Stay." The former sounds like Crazy Horse being fronted by Isaac Brock, of ex-label mates Modest Mouse, while the latter is a companion to the opening track, "Offer." It finds Martsch alone again with his guitar, singing in a voice full of gratitude, "Now you know, how I go, still you stay with me." It's a sincere thank you to all who have approached this new project with an open mind, and a fitting end to an album that takes its listeners on an unexpected, though thoroughly enjoyable, ride.

Barin McGrath
Junkmedia.org Review

Well, what can I say- Doug Martsch has made the favorite CD I own. Doug Martsch, frontman for the indie-rock group Built to Spill, made a sorta Oh Brother Where Art Though meets Modest Mouse CD. At times the CD lulls you into a folky trance, only to snap you out of it with wailing solos and powerful lyrics. I highly recommend this CD, every song is a masterpiece.

As a blues fan I am always searching for a fresh interpretation. There were times when I thought it could never get any better than Mississippi John Hurt. While Doug Martsch will never approach or overtake John Hurt, I have to say that I have not heard such a wonderfully personal and genuine album in a long time. I love Ben Harper because he is an American musician who pays tribute to American folk musics in all of his work. Doug Martsch accomplishes something extraordinary in Now You Know. His vocal and guitar melodies are embellished by gorgeous slide riffs. And let's be honest, the guy's singing is rivaled only by Wayne of the Flaming Lips. This is a great and personal album. I thank Doug Martsch for this beautiful work of art.

I really didn't know what to expect with this CD. I'm a die-hard BTS fan, but feel like their latest release (Acient Melodies...) was their weakest. This however, is a great CD, and is getting better with each listen.

There are only a few tracks that remind me even remotely of Built to Spills' prior recordings. But any BTS fan would be able to recognize Doug's voice/style underwater during a full-on nuclear cacophony; and we all know that Doug IS Built to Spill so you can slap any name you want on the front of the jewel case-- it's all the same in your headphones.

It will probably take a few listens for the songs to start distinguishing themselves from each other, and for the more subtle melodies to surface, but you will be rewarded for giving the music time to sink in.

It made me yearn for a new BTS album, but it's a terrific holdover. It starts strong, and ends even better, with a few forgetables in the middle. A solid solo offering.

This record is often referred to as stripped down or raw, yet there is nothing low-fi, raunchy, or even "live" about the feel or production of the songs. Each track is as carefully put together and as cleanly produced as any Built to Spill release. What is absent from Doug's solo work is the heavy guitar layering and ambient keyboard noise that marked much of his Built to Spill work. What is left are the elements that have made all of his work gripping - haunting vocals, great songwriting, and ripping guitarwork. I suppose the songs could be called "stripped down" in that the guitars used are primarily acoustic but this only serves to illuminate how well Doug Martsch can actually play the instrument. So, I wouldn't pick this up hoping for something dirty or raw but I would pick it up looking for a minimal rock album revealing it's bluegrass roots and masterful songwriting.