There's Nothing Wrong with Love

Built To Spill: Doug Martsch (vocals, guitar); Brett Nelson (bass); Andy Capps (drums).
Additional personnel: Wayne Rhino Flower (guitar, bass); John McMahon, Gretchen Yanover (cello); Eric Akre (percussion); Chad Shaver.
Recorded in May and June 1994.
With THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH LOVE, Idaho native and former Treepeople singer-guitarist Doug Martsch (aka Built To Spill) brings the lush pop-rock of the Beatles and Beach Boys kicking and screaming into the Sonic Youth era. Built To Spill marries the timeless and the modern so naturally that even brilliant, like-minded contemporaries like Guided By Voices and the Flaming Lips seem calculated. None of these songs crosses the dreaded four-minute mark. Maximum heavy-pop pleasure is squeezed into concise verse-chorus-verse-guitar-crunch nuggets. Together, they form a low-fidelity symphony that uplifts the spirit with every string-enhanced hook.
Everything about the album has the glow of wide-eyed innocence, and it is unleavened by the sarcasm and irony that come naturally to so many of Martsch's contemporaries. Characters freely talk to stars, re-imagine history, praise David Bowie's merits over those of step-parents (naturally!) and demand to "see IT now," as though nothing is beyond grasp. On "Distopian Dream Girl," one of a handful of stone-cold classics here, Martsch tells a lover (or maybe a daughter?), "If I could choose between your life or mine, I'd do the stupid thing/And let you keep on living." This is tear-jerking pop music carried by a faith in people, and by a true sense of wonder.