There's Nothing Wrong With Love

With There's Nothing Wrong With Love, Idaho native and former Treepeople singer-guitarist Doug Martsch 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 stepparents, and demand to 'see IT now,' as though nothing is beyond grasp. This is tear-jerking pop music carried by a true sense of wonder.