Thursday, September 24, 2020

Day 0753 - Bubble & Scrape

 Sebadoh “Bubble & Scrape” (1993)

 


Sebadoh was formed by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr. bassist/vocalist Lou Barlow.  Originally it acted as a creative outlet and side project for Barlow, who was being somewhat shut out of the songwriting process of Dinosaur Jr by his bandmate J Mascis.  Eventually Barlow was fired from Dinosaur Jr and made Sebadoh his full-time priority.

Possibly due to Mascis’ overbearing nature, some of Barlow’s songs ruminated on the subject of control.  In contrast to that band, Sebadoh seems much more democratic, with all three band members contributing songs to the album.

The band had built itself up on lo-fi indie recordings, but this was the first album that they recorded entirely in a professional studio, and the last album with founding member Gaffney, who went on to pursue a prodigious DIY solo career.

'Bubble and Scrape' benefits from the mix of writers with a range of sounds, from noisy fuzzed out lo-fi punk, to washy alt-rock and some almost 1960s pop moments (but sifted through a grimy 90s filter).

No comments:

Post a Comment