Pitchfork

Revisiting a classic album reaps all sorts of benefits for band and fans alike. At least that's the case for Built to Spill, whose focus on performing their classic 1997 LP Perfect From Now On live in its entirety has led to a huge tour of the thing and the announcement of a new studio album coming in 2009.

The Perfect From Now On tour starts in September, hitting the West Coast, East Coast (including ATP NY), and a whole lotta Europe, all the way through November (via Tiny Mix Tapes). According to a Billboard.com report, Perfect From Now On cellist John McMahon will join Built to Spill on the tour to help them more faithfully recreate the album live.

Fans of, say, Keep It Like a Secret, however, need not worry. Built to Spill guitarist/vocalist Doug Martsch told Billboard.com that the band will also perform an encore of tunes from their back catalog.

Martsch also spilled the beans to Billboard.com about the band's follow-up to 2006's You in Reverse, which is slated for a release on Warner Bros. next spring. The band is nearing the end of the recording process, having recorded 15 tracks. Songs likely to end up on the record include "Nowhere Lullabye", "Done", "Good Old Boredom", and "Planting Seeds". Martsch called the latter "a real conventional kind of pop/rock song. It reminds me of a Tom Petty song or something, but it probably doesn't sound anything like that." Another song resembles Martsch's late 80s/early 90s band Treepeople, "a fast, post-punk thing."

In general, the Billboard.com report claims "the songs [on the new record] will be a mix between newly penned material and retooled tracks considered but ultimately dropped from...You in Reverse."

Finally, Martsch credited using Pro Tools instead of analog tape with making the entire recording process, in Billboard.com's words, "more collaborative than ever."

Suffice to say, we're psyched.

Built to Spill:

06-06 Lawrence, KS - Wakarusa Festival
06-07 Minneapolis, MN - The Cabooze
07-03 Quincy, CA - High Sierra Music Festival
07-19 Boise, ID - Expo Idaho Fairgrounds
09-08 San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
09-09 San Francisco, CA - Slim's *
09-10 Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
09-11 Hollywood, CA - Troubadour *
09-12 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy and Harriet's *#
09-17 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place *
09-18 Northampton, MA - Calvin Theater *
09-19 Monticello, NY - ATP New York *
09-20 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero *
09-21 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero *
09-22 Richmond, VA - The National *
09-23 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club *
09-24 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live *
09-25 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *$
09-26 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *$
09-27 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre *
10-01 Nijmegen, Netherlands - Doornroosje *
10-02 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Melkweg *
10-03 Utrecht, Netherlands - Tivoli *
10-04 Groningen, Netherlands - Take Root Festival *
10-05 Brussels, Belgium - AB Box *
10-06 Aarhus, Denmark - VoxHall *
10-07 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen *
10-09 Stavanger, Norway - Folken *
10-10 Mons, Belgium - USF *
10-11 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller *
10-12 Gothenburg, Sweden - Sticky Fingers *
10-13 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser Medis *
10-14 Malmo, Sweden - KB *
10-15 Bielefeld, Germany - Forum *
10-16 Bochum, Germany - BHF Langendeer *
10-17 Stuttgart, Germany - Universum *
10-18 Heidelberg, Germany - Karlstorbahnhof *
10-19 Nuremberg, Germany - K4 *
10-21 Vienna, Austria - Flex *
10-22 Innsbruck, Austria - Weekender *
10-23 Saint Gallen, Switzerland - Palace *
10-24 Bologna, Italy - Locomotive *
10-25 Rome, Italy - INIT *
10-26 Verona, Italy - Interzone *
10-28 Clermont-Ferrand, France - La Cooperative *
10-29 Barcelona, Spain - Apolo *
10-30 Madrid, Spain - Caracol *
10-31 Bilbao, Spain - Azkena *
11-01 Angouleme, France - La Nef *
11-03 Paris, France - Maroquinerie *
11-04 London, England - Koko *
11-05 Bristol, England - Thekla *
11-06 Oxford, England - Zodiac *
11-07 Leeds, England - Brudenell Social Club *
11-08 Glasgow, Scotland - King Tuts *
11-09 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Limelight *
11-10 Dublin, Ireland - Academy *

* performing Perfect From Now On
# with Camper Van Beethoven
$ with Dinosaur Jr., Meat Puppets