Suggestion: Hudson Bell

It's always risky to recommend music after only a couple of listens, because you never know if repeated exposure will squash your enthusiasm. But what the hell. Based on this review on Pitchfork, I bought Hudson Bell's When the Sun is the Moon.

There's quite a bit of Built to Spill influence here, partly in the meandering guitar lines (three of the seven songs pass the seven-minute mark). Bell's voice can also sound remarkably like that band's singer, Doug Martsch, especially on the high end and when he lingers on a word -- holding his warble on "there" or "long," for instance. On the lower end, there's also some J. Mascis in his vocals, and I don't normally mean that as a compliment.

But for as popular as Built to Spill is among musicians, I can't think of many artists who successfully (and obviously) borrow from their sound. Bell does.

There's also a shoegazing quality in the fuzzy guitar that recalls Ride, and very occasional clearer squalls that sound like early Smashing Pumpkins. (I love that there's a lengthy Wikipedia entry for shoegazing.) Um, I'll shut up now. If any of this sounds appealing, check him out.