Lou Barlow

Lou Barlow, the prolific godfather of lo-fi, has yet another project under another name. This time he’s not Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, or Folk Implosion. He’s just Lou Barlow, a fitting moniker for the most straightforward and personal work of his illustrious career. When any of the key names of the indie/alt-rock movement (Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould, R.E.M., et al) releases a new album, there will always be mixed reactions. If they try something new, they’re attacked for losing their edge. If they re-tread common ground, they’re dubbed stale. Emoh deftly handles the age-old catch-22, and will please fans and critics alike.

The opening track, “Holding Back the Year,” is an earnest pop song with country-tinges and harmonies that‘d make The Eagles jealous (although he’s more Jay Farrar than Don Henley). His cover of Ratt’s “Round-N-Round” lets us know he doesn’t take himself too seriously. But Lou’s fans will be happy to know that he’s still miserable after all these years -- the majority of the album’s material is centered around pain, jealousy, self-doubt and sacrilege.

Lou Barlow has found that seemingly unattainable balance between fresh and comfortable by utilizing a folky Americana sound that is well-suited for this singer/songwriter. These are the most well-produced and accessible songs of his career, and could garner him some new fans that weren’t so keen on his patented, too-spare-for-its-own good productions of yore. -- Doug Kamin

Like Charlie Brown, some people's existential angst will never fully be cleansed. After nearly 20 years it's hard to believe Lou Barlow can't find something to be happy about, but much to relief of his fans, that is clearly not the case. This second edition of Loobiecore picks up where the first volume left off but with infinitely more polish to its production -- or at least as much polish as a Barlow record could possibly have. Easily his finest, most fully realized record since the glory years of Sebadoh, Emoh takes the songs of Sentridoh and rolls them up into the production values of Folk Implosion to create a sound rarely found in the Barlow catalog. And while the topics du jour haven't changed much since the early years, he still convincingly murmurs his lyrics; exorcising the spirits of Nick Drake with great conviction and sincerity, especially during his rousing cover of Ratt's "Round and Round" (continuing a tradition that started with his excellent cover of Bryan Adams' "Run to You"). Diehards will be swooning and cheering from the first song, "Holding Back the Years" (which has harmonies the Eagles would be proud of), to the album's closer, an amusing tale of a cat. For newer Barlow fans, it's an ideal place to start and discover the depths of his catalog because of its immediate accessibility and easy listening. It's a mature, accomplished statement for one of indie rock's most reliably miserable men. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide