Album Review: Emoh by Lou Barlow

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.

Full Review >>

Aquasi-legendary figure in American indie-rock, Lou Barlow has released so much, and under multiple aliases (Folk Implosion, Sebadoh, Sentridoh), that there's an inevitable feeling, as Mike Yarwood used to say, of "and this is me" about his rare solo releases. Emoh (it's "home" backwards, of course, but also an ironic nod to the angsty hardcore off-shoot known as "emo") is a polished, perhaps self-consciously mature record. Barlow happily confesses he wishes he'd had the studio technology now available when he was first making records, but while Emoh is hardly, say, 10cc, it lacks both the lurching DIY energy and emotional intimacy of his more rough and ready recordings.

Full Review >>