Sebadoh

Essential Albums

  • Bakesale (Deluxe Edition)
    Bakesale (Deluxe Edition)
    Bakesale (Deluxe Edition)

    Bakesale was the first Sebadoh album Lou Barlow recorded without wild-card foil Eric Gaffney. Absent Gaffney's eccentric influence, the band hardened into a taut indie-rock power trio. “Licence to Confuse” and “Magnet’s Coil” rank among Barlow’s most adrenalized and melodically concise songs; the downcast “Not a Friend” and effervescent “Skull” are among his prettiest. Meanwhile, bassist Jason Loewenstein relishes his promotion to Barlow’s new right-hand man, turning in the joyously anarchic “S**t Soup” and the white-knuckled “Drama Mine.”

  • Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock
    Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock
    Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock

    Sebadoh’s Sub Pop debut compiles material from two 1992 EPs—Rocking the Forest and Sebadoh vs. Helmet—that capture their split personality at its most pronounced. On one hand, you have violently upchucked blasts like “Cry Sis” and a post-hardcore corruption of Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon” that betray their affinity for DIY punk pranksterism. But amid the warm ’n’ fuzzy rush of “Brand New Love” and corroded jangle of “Vampire,” you hear Lou Barlow emerge as indie rock’s foremost hapless romantic.

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About Sebadoh

Indie-rock pioneers Sebadoh sparked a lo-fi revolution, pairing yearning love songs with indulgently blaring noise. Founded in 1986 in Massachusetts, the band started as a side project for Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr. When Barlow was fired from his original band, he teamed up with drummer and songwriter Eric Gaffney on home recordings of meandering, fuzzy songs, compiled on The Freed Weed in 1990. Multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein joined for the 23-track III, featuring a mix of delicately scuzzy melodies and lo-fi noise inspired by Sonic Youth. Gaffney left prior to 1994’s Bakesale and 1996’s Harmacy—more accessible albums that still breezily vacillated between low-key folk rock and noisy experimental jam sessions. Their major label debut, the slick and cohesive The Sebadoh came in 1999, but its lukewarm reception led to the band taking a 14-year recording hiatus. The group returned with ‘90s throwback Defend Yourself followed by 2019’s Act Surprised.

ORIGIN
Northampton, MA, United States
FORMED
1986
GENRE
Alternative

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