This little single, a split with Michael John, was released quite quietly in 1998, and featured the first solo tracks from the Built to Spill frontman. “5 On 3” is classic Martsch; if his band’s records had taken a move towards slicker rock, this song, about a preschooler doing drugs, finds him returning to the lo-fi roots of his early years. It’s a funny song, though a little bit nonsensical, and contains one of his rawest, raunchiest guitar licks to date. It’s a fun track, and deserves to be heard. That’s why you’re hearing it right now.
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