Worthwhile Sounds From Built to Spill

Built to Spill seems like a perfect indie band. The group plays droning alternative-pop songs with smart, funny lyrics, and like experimental jazz it requires some effort to get into. But it’s worth it.

The questions going into its show Monday at the Troubadour were how the group would perform after finally nailing down a firm lineup following a history of revolving-door rosters, and whether its new major-label deal with Warner Bros. Records (after slipping from one tiny indie enclave to another) would have any impact on the band.

Built to Spill, whose roots are in Boise and Seattle, answered with a stubbornly independent set. Studious, serious and barely acknowledging the audience, singer-guitarist Doug Martsch, bassist Brett Nelson and ex-Spinanes drummer Scott Plouf dug into the longish jams from the group’s new album, “Perfect From Now On.” Revealing a love for tuneful, Husker Du-like washes of noise, Built to Spill almost felt boring live if you weren’t listening hard and thinking.

If you were, the rewards were great. Martsch, nondescript in a T-shirt and beard, sang with a reedy, Neil Young-style intonation, offering haiku-like lyrics that were rarely decipherable within the guitar squalls. Overall, Martsch lived up to his cult status as a masterful tunesmith, and in an age when guitar rock feels practically passe, Built to Spill created music that felt fresh and newfound.