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Back
in high school, when SEB WOOd and I were politically ostracized (well, the truth
is we just wouldn’t speak to our classmates because they were either
right-wing Fear Factory fans or dancefloor addicts but we’ve always thought it
was more romantic to pretend to be rejected), we used to listen a lot to
Sebadoh’s Bakesale and Harmacy. I guess we kinda worshipped the
guys hiding behind this nonsense Sebadoh word. Once in a while we met girls who
were listening to Sebadoh as well. Those were the days ! Those few days were
sensational moments when we made informal symposiums discussing our favourite
bands’ merit and quarrelling bitterly about who in the band deserves the
credit. Eventually we fell in love but that’s another story. Anyway, when
talking about Sebadoh, everyone was always asserting that Lou Barlow deserves
all the credit for these wonderful albums while we stood up for Jason
Loewenstein who was unfairly considered as a white trash ox just being able to
bellow in the microphone. Of course, he wrote some songs such as “Crystal
Gypsy” but he wrote some wonderful songs in which he sings very well. For
example, he made “Not Too Amused” which is my favourite songs on Bakesale
(Sebadoh’s best album in my opinion).
We
still don’t know if Sebadoh has split up for good but after Lou Barlow’s
last Sentridoh album which is really middle-of-the-road, Jason Loewenstein
releases his solo debut entitled At Sixies and Sevens. This album has not
been much appraised because 1) we all have in mind all those great Sebadoh
albums, 2) this album sounds much more like a Dinosaur Jr album than a Sebadoh
one. The result is sometimes good (“transform” and “codes” which
particularly remind me of J mascis because of the solos) but sometimes it
unfortunately becomes conventional us rock (“funerals” gives the impression
that he has been hanging around way too much with Soul Asylum or Blind Melon).
The album contains too many songs, some of which are quite boring because they
sound like the aforementioned bands (“circle”, “roswell to Jerusalem”,
“mistake”). In “h/m”, he even tries so hard to make a stoner song that
he could have offered it for the last Foo Fighters album! C’mon, stay indie
please.
Fortunately, some tracks are reminiscent of Sebadoh: “I’m a shit” is
head-bopping and personal. It is the best song on the album and along with
“Casserole”, it is close to Bakesale’s spirit. “More drugs”
seems to be a Sebadoh b-side and “crazy Santana” (apparently a mockery)
makes one think of Sebadoh 3. Finally, there are two surprising songs
(“angle” and “nyc3”) that sound like the highly underrated group Polvo
because of the guitar lines, the fills and the structure but the singing being
quite different, these tracks are rather exciting.
At Sixies and Sevens
is not that bad but boring songs prevail over brilliant ones. And that’s a
pity. I’m part of these people who would like Sebadoh to reform because if you
take the best songs from Lou Barlow’s last Sentridoh album and from Jason
Lowenstein’s At Sixies and Sevens, you’ve probably got a great album.
Maybe we should set up an e-petition…
-Blacklisted Igor
/nov 15th 2002/