I’ve been a big fan of Massachussets, USA, Lo-Fi indie rock exponents, Sebadoh, since first hearing them when a friend gave me a mix tape with a few tracks of them on it back in the early ’90s. I was a big fan of Dinosaur Jnr at the time and when I was told the bassist, Lou Barlow, had formed a little side project. I was keen to have a listen, and the rest they say is history. I’d actually thought they’d gone by the wayside after not hearing anything about them for over a decade. Than I read a few months ago that they’d regrouped and played a hand full of songs at a charity gig. Then they were chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival that he curated in March 2012 in Minehead, England and then went on to do a mini U.S tour.
The new EP, Secret, is the first in 14 years for this three piece act. The EP is just that: an EP released in secret. The band quietly posted these five songs to their Bandcamp page some months ago, leading to intense and uncontrollable boners for those in the know and from as you’ll quickly hear, the band has re-emerged with a surprising and new-found energy.
This little five tracker opens with ‘Keep the Boy Alive’, just a good old honest lo-fi jangly number, a style of indie rock characterised by low-fidelity recording techniques, often on four-track machines. Lead singer, Lou Barlow, says of the band’s resurrected sound, “We kept to ourselves during the recording & didn’t have much, if any, outside intervention.” That, to my mind, makes it a true Sebadoh record and aligns the style of Defend Yourself with our early releases such as 1990’s Weed Forestin` and 1991’s Sebadoh III.”
The second track is my personal fave off the EP, ‘My Drugs’, a song that to mind deals with those close to him and perhaps himself in the hows and whys of giving up certain illicit substances. A little more of an aggressively approached song than the usual way that Barlow would have gone about writing tracks over the years. Maybe it’s a move toward new and honest musical territory. Who knows?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR5woHo_cX4
‘Arbitrary High’ is your meat and potatoes lo-fi track. I can almost hear the hum of the Tascam recorder. ‘I Don’t Mind’ has that classic country meets pop type of vibe going on. I actually thought this was a track that aforementioned J.Mascis of Dinosaur Jnr was the vocalist on, but from what I can find out, it’s all Lou Barlow. The EP finishes with another belter of aggressive lo-fi pop rock fusion, ‘All Kinds’, a track that showcase the talents of fellow band members, Jason Loewenstein (bass/backing vocals) and Bob D`Amico (drums/backing vocals) – a cracking track.
The band will re-emerge with the full-length album, Defend Yourself, on September 17, 2013, and is certainly something to look forward to. Expect them to tour Australia in the new year.
7/10
Reviewer: Adam Barbuto