Lou Barlow: Brace the Wave | Album Review

Lou Barlow is best known for his incursions into lo-fi and alt-rock with Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr respectively, but like his sometime bandmate J Mascis, his solo material is a different proposition.

Barlow’s third solo outing is a sparsely recorded collection, with nine intimate tunes that run the gamut of the acoustic folk spectrum.

Songs like the briskly strummed Redeem and Lazy see the sometime bassist in defiant form, yet there is a sense of raw vulnerability to Nerve and the beautiful C&E, while the buzz of supplementary instruments and effects pedals nicely fills out Boundaries.

On the other hand, a track like the acoustic-led Moving sounds like an unfinished sketch of a really promising rock song.

If this is where Barlow is right now, however, it’s good enough.

[ loobiecore.com ]