Built to Spill Announce Daniel Johnston Cover Album, Share 'Bloody Rainbow'

have shared “Bloody Rainbow,” a track off their new covers album. Titled Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston, the record drops on May 1st Ernest Jenning Record Co.

“Bloody Rainbow” kicks off the LP, with frontman Doug Martsch delivering serene vocals over acoustic guitar. “Swirling hypnotic/Disrupts the girl,” he sings, “And the skull-headed spider/The milk was low cal.”

Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston features Martsch, bassist Jason Albertini and drummer Steve Gere. The songs derive from the band’s rehearsals during Johnston’s final tour in 2017 when they served as the late songwriter’s backing band.

“It was pretty special for us,” Martsch tells Rolling Stone. “Basically we wanted to get good documentation of what our rehearsals were like. It was a lot heavier than what I thought it would be.” The album was in the final stages of production in September when the cult artist died from natural causes at the age of 58.

Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston will be pressed on yellow vinyl, accompanied by a 32-page songbook. The record arrives months after Wilco’s release of Chicago 2017, a vinyl-only album consisting of songs Tweedy (Jeff Tweedy and his son Spencer, Darin Gray, James Elkington and Liam Kazar) cut while serving as Johnston’s backing band in Chicago in 2017.

Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston Tracklist

1. Bloody Rainbow
2. Tell Me Now
3. Honey I Sure Miss You
4. Good Morning You
5. Heart, Mind and Soul
6. Life In Vain
7. Mountain Top
8. Queenie The Dog
9. Impossible Love
10. Fake Records Of Rock & Roll
11. Fish

Built To Spill Plays The Songs Of Daniel Johnston by Built To Spill