Sebadoh - 'Bubble And Scrape' (Domino) Released 05/05/08

Upon finding himself unceremoniously kicked out of stoner rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr in 1993, bass player Lou Barlow focused on Sebadoh as a singular creative outlet, unsuspectingly creating the ‘Lo-Fi’ movement and igniting an Olympian torch of Indie Rock that has since been carried by everyone from The Mountain Goats to Okkervil River. These songs were striking as they contained an often unguarded, folk inflected confessional quality that was distinctive from the spaced out Crazy Horse fixations of his former band mate or the art rock noise extremities explored by other leaders of the alternative scene such as Sonic Youth, while not exactly moving a million miles away from either pulse of the underground.

‘Bubble and Scrape’ was their fourth album and on this well timed Domino expanded re-issue we can testify that Sebadoh were in full possession of their cathartic gifts, channelling spirits of rejection and frustrating to a stunning degree. The album will be performed in its entirety at several ‘Don’t Look Back’ concerts this year and it will be interesting to see if they can successfully reconnect with the earlier emotional turmoil on display here. 

The opening ‘Soul and fire’ is arguably their most direct moment, as over a plaintive acoustic riff and subtle bursts of distortions Barlow proclaims: “When I lose control I need a kind, forgiving friend, but I think our love is coming to an end” encapsulating an anthem for disenchantment that has an honesty in which the situation expressed is entirely convincing, a heartfelt lament to the dying of the light.     

In fact, the lyrical preoccupations of Barlow at this point were largely concerned with the end of love and, from documenting the initial moment of horrible realisation to the subsequent emotional fallout he comes on like a prototype Will Oldham with FX pedals. Crucially, the sonic palette used to explore this peculiar human state is expansive and adventurous, at times noisily chaotic and certainly not entirely focused on despair. On the Jason Loewenstein penned ‘Sister’ and ‘Sixteen’ we get a more defiant Sebadoh beast, snarling with discordance, menace and melody.