If It's Too Loud...

Fresh off the heels off last month's new song "stunned" comes another new song from Sebadoh, this one also written and sung by Jason Lowenstein. "raging river" is quite different from "stunned" (one of the reasons I've always loved Sebadoh is how different their songs tend to be from each other). While "stunned" was a noisy, abrasive punk-ish song, "raging river" is a lot more laid back. In fact, it's more of a groovy country-ish song. Of course, it's a Jason Lowenstein penned groovy country-ish song, so it's still pretty loud and abrasive. You can watch the video for "raging river" below. Act Surprised , the upcoming album from Sebadoh, will be out May 24 on Dangerbird. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Sebadoh, be sure to check out their website , including their current tour dates.

Being a near obsessive Sebadoh fan, I'll be sure to bring you anything new that Sebadoh releases. Yesterday they shared the second song of their upcoming album. "stunned" is a Jason Lowenstein song, which means it's as abrasive as you'd expect. It's a brief 2:30 blast of noise, but with the perfect amount of melody to make it still a listenable song. Lowenstein has always been a master of the aggressive pop song, and "stunned" shows that off perfectly. Plus, it has a great false stop right at the beginning, and I love a false stop. You can watch the video for "stunned" below. Act Surprised , the new album from Sebadoh, will be out May 24 on Dangerbird Records. You can pre-order a copy here . For more on Sebadoh, be sure to check out their website . 

I've been an obsessive fan of Sebadoh for decades now. I even have always liked The Sebadoh . When I heard rumblings on social media about an upcoming album, I couldn't wait to finally hear new music from one of my favorites. Today, we have a new song! "celebrate the void" starts off very differently from your typical Sebadoh song. For the first half it's a straight up power ballad, which I don't think anyone would expect. Sure, Sebadoh have done slow songs and ballads before, but "celebrate the void" is a power ballad, albeit filtered through the prism of Lou Barlow. Halfway through it switches to a more typical later period Sebadoh song. But any Sebadoh song is guaranteed to be glorious. You can watch the video for "celebrate the void" below. Act Surprised , the new (!!!!) album from Sebadoh, will be out May 24 on Dangerbird. You can pre-order a copy through your favorite outlet here . For more on Sebadoh, check out their website . ...

We may have had to wait 15 years for a new solo track from Jason Lowenstein, but after last month's release of "Superstitious," we now have another song from his upcoming solo album, "Hey Hey."  While "Superstitious" fell into the darker, slightly discordant side of the Jason Lowenstein realm of music, "Hey Hey" is a bit more light and upbeat. In fact, it's almost funky. Almost. The song starts off with an off kilter country riff which pops back in every so often for the chorus. It's the kind of country sounding riff that would weasel its way into 90s alternative every so often, just subtle enough that country hating kids like teenage/early 20s self wouldn't pick up on the country base of it. "Hey Hey" also has a great Lowenstein guitar solo towards the end.  You can listen to "Hey Hey" below. After a 15 year wait, Jason Lowenstein's second solo album, Spooky Action,  will be released on June 16 o...

It's been 15 years since his last solo album, but next month Jason Lowenstein will finally follow up 2002's At Sixes and Sevens with his second solo album, Spooky Action.  You will probably know Lowenstein best as being the other longstanding member of Sebadoh. While many artists will stretch out and try new sounds or entire new genres on a solo album, At Sixes and Sevens  is more of what you wanted from Lowenstein. It still sounded like Sebadoh, but the louder, more rock side of the band. If "Superstitious" is any indication, Spooky Action will be even more of the same. It's loud, with a killer opening riff, and is heavy on the lo-fi rock. It's exactly what you want it to be, and that's not a bad thing. You can listen to "Superstitious" below. Spooky Action  will be out on June 16 on Joyful Noise Recordings. The album can be pre-ordered here . For more on Jason Lowenstein, check him out on Facebook and his website .

This is a great album that is being unjustly criticized. I’ve been spending the past two weeks trying to determine why. It’s new Sebadoh! New Sebadoh! It’s also Lou Barlow’s divorce album. Considering he met his now ex-wife because of a song (“Poledo”) and won her back because of a song (“Willing to Wait”), how could the relationship not end in song? I think this is where the problem lies: The album isn’t filled with standard break up songs. The theme of break up songs either go along with “get out of my life” or “I’m so sad you’re gone.” However, when a truly long term relationship (Barlow’s was 25 years) ends, especially when there are children involved, it’s not as black and white. You have feelings of both relief and regret. And when you add children to the mix, you don’t get the luxury of cutting the person out of your life forever. Somehow I don’t think most music bloggers have the life experience to understand that. Which brings us to the music. The album starts off “I Wi...