P4K FOCUS (DAY ONE): Built to Spill Cleanses Our Power-Chord Palates After a Few Heaping Helpings of the Jesus Lizard

Doug Martsch, the godfather of good beards.

[Photos by Laura M. Gray]

By Lizz Kannenberg

The Artist: Boise’s finest heavy-handed guitar rock band.

Their Latest Release: You In Reverse (Warner Bros., 2006)

The Set in a Few Sentences: Following the howling awesomeness of The Jesus Lizard would throw most groups off their game. While some Yow fans may have yawned at  Built to Spill‘s relatively subdued set, Doug Martsch and his melody-chasing crew delivered with classics like “You Were Right” and “Car.” And dude’s still one of the best guitar players of all time.

And a Letter Grade: A-