BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition June 2019

MUSiC CONCERT PREVIEWS
IN LOU
WE TRUST
Fiercely Democratic
Indie Rockers Sebadoh
Strike the Perfect Balance
on Act Surprised
By KARINA ESPINOSA
L
ou Barlow is at home in
Greenfield, Massachusetts,
struggling to speak over
the sounds of high-pitched
giggles and little footsteps
scurrying in and out of the
background. His two youngest kids
are having a playdate, and every now
and then the Sebadoh frontman has
to abruptly stop what he’s saying to
address his tiny intruders. But his
tone is playful, and you can almost
hear Barlow grinning on the other
end of the line.
It would be easy to forget that
this same person helped shape the
mood and sound for an entire movement
in the 90s. When Sebadoh released
indie rock gems like Bubble &
Scrape (1993) and Bakesale (1994),
you could feel the crushing weight of
emotional ambivalence reflected in
the delicate yet discordant music. Of
course, these records were written
during the band members’ tenuous
20s. But Barlow happily reports that
he’s since reached a stable period in
his life, which made it possible for
Sebadoh to create one of their most
refined albums to date.
“It gave me a chance to really concentrate
on the texture of the record
and how we were going to record it,”
he says. “There were a lot of ideas
that I was able to follow through with.
When I’ve written and recorded music
in transitional times, it was hard
to do the basic structural work that it
takes to make a really good record.”
Act Surprised, Sebadoh’s first fulllength
work in six years, arrived May
24. Lead single “Celebrate the Void”
explores the band’s familiar theme of
anxiety, but it isn’t despondent; instead,
the song urges you to take everything
in stride. About a year ago,
Barlow was recovering from a shattered
collarbone, he had slipped on
some ice while carrying his youngest
child. The timing couldn’t have been
worse: his other band, Dinosaur Jr.,
was just about to reunite for a tour.
His mishap also came on the heels of
a divorce, and the prospect
of losing income from tour
SEBADOH
band in a new direction,
Barlow, along with guitarist
cancellations was a constant
Saturday, June 1
Jason Loewen-
source of panic.
“It was like my worst
Fox Cabaret
Tix: $25, ticketweb.ca
stein and drummer Bob
D’Amico, commissioned
nightmare was coming
long-time acquaintance
true,” he says of the accident. “At the
same time, my 13-year-old daughter
was going through some really intense
personal changes – it was just a very
overwhelming period of time. But I
think I realised that I was going to have
to live through it. The most important
thing to do in that situation was to relax
and move forward and let go of the
idea that I’d ever have an easy resolution
to everything.”
It was a turning point for Barlow,
and for Sebadoh. Hoping to steer the
Justin Pizzoferrato to produce Act
Surprised. His technical expertise
was hugely beneficial for the trio.
“We were able to zero in on the creative
side of things, which was what
I always wanted for the band,” says
Barlow. This balance is clear from
the three singles released so far:
“Stunned,” “Raging River,” and “Celebrate
the Void” are classic Sebadoh
head bangers and showcase the band
at its most powerful.
“We’d been touring for a long time
together, so the core of the band was
always electric. I think we knew what
our strengths were and we made an
album that was the most representative
of what we were capable of as a
three-piece rock band.”
If there’s one thing Sebadoh truly
excels at, it’s maintaining an equal relationship
between all three members.
It explains why they’ve lasted so long
and why they may never break up.
“We’ve always been a fiercely democratic
band. It can be difficult, because
people tend to want to take all
control or very little,” Barlow laughs.
“To negotiate that middle ground is
challenging, but for Sebadoh it only
made sense that everyone’s voice was
heard.” ,
JUSTIN PIZZOFERRATO