3
Vaguely familiar with this band. Did not like the album at first, but it grew on me and I kind of liked it by the end. There is a charm within the dourness.
Bubble & Scrape is the fourth album by American indie rock band Sebadoh. It was released by Sub Pop in April 1993. Bubble & Scrape was the final Sebadoh album to feature songs composed by founding member Eric Gaffney.
Vaguely familiar with this band. Did not like the album at first, but it grew on me and I kind of liked it by the end. There is a charm within the dourness.
Interesting, often atonal prog rock (?) wavered on it a lot. Cool at times and a chaotic at others
the list has finally paid off! finally, after all of the thes and 70s glam shite it has spewed out something i've never heard of and that i am bonafide enjoying listening to and will almost certainly listen to again and knowing how much of a sweat i am probably listen to the entire back catalogue. bonus points for the last track being as long as the rest of the album. i imagine this is what it must feel like for Gerry Mccain knowing full well he got away with it.
I thought I was all about 90s grunge, but I'd never heard of Sebadoh before. This album was one of the "low-fi" grunge records of the era that I missed. Was a neat album, but not something that will have the replay power of other grunge artists of the time. Definitely enjoyed it, but not enough to listen to over and over, thus the rating of 3.
A lot of this album sounds out of tune with itself. I suspect that's the point and maybe goes hand in hand with being "lo-fi" but it's slightly jarring. Still, there were some good moments and in particular I liked the louder, rockier tracks which reminded me of Nirvana's "Bleach" album. I can hear similarities with other bands from the same era but it's hard to gauge how influential this album was and there isn't really much info about that on Wiki. Feels like the band might be more influential than any specific album, plus I'd say Dinosaur Jr were a more influential band than Sebadoh. 5.5/10
Production: 8/20 Songwriting: 7/20 Innovation: 15/20 Presence of pure bangers: 0/20 Emotional response: 6/20 =36
A masterpiece of the lo-fi sub-genre of 90’s indie rock.
amazing find
Cool stuff. Meat Puppets, Nirvana, Kurt Vile vibes
Starts pretty good and just gets better and more interesting. This is perfect for fans of Polvo or the kind of obnoxious people who will tell you that the guitars in At The Drive In's Relationship of Command are out of tune with the air of someone who uncovered the hidden secrets of Rock'n'Roll. I am both of these people.
Surprising choice (had expected Bakesale, one of the most popular records on 90s university campuses?) In the 90s Lou Barlow (as Sentridoh) and Prince were alike, releasing big selections of songs without proper quality control. However, as Sebadoh, on Sebadoh III - B&S - Bakesale ..certainly not the case. I like Bakesale (5) and Sebadoh III (5) a bit more, but rate B&S above Harmacy (4). Contributions of Gaffney and Loewenstein are as always uneven, but on B&S I would say things are generally fine. In fact, my favourite three songs are Soul and Fire (B), Happily Divided (L) and Think (B), but Bouquet for a Siren (G) and Sister (L) are also excellent. 4.5 (due to a couple of weak songs) -> 5
I remember seeing them live with my dad (I didn’t know who they were), and they didn’t disappoint. Even today, I listen to this and remember why there even was a “post-punk” sound, how powerful it could be, and I wish it had been less-defined by not being something else than it’s own honest grit.
Ace. Like Beck falling down the stairs, pursued by Sonic Youth and Pavement. But ragged and interesting in its own right. Homemade is bloody great. A band I was aware of back when I was heavily into this stuff but never investigated beyond Not Too Amused. Now I will.
Como álbum sí creo que es muy bueno, pero son de esos que tengo que escuchar muchas veces hasta sentir que me gustó de verdad. No hubo una canción en particular que me atrapara, pero sí está bien hecho el disco.
I like a lot of these actually, some quite different moods between some songs. Never knew what to expect. I like the slightly off vocals, gives it that punk edge. Reminded me of Dinosaur Jr and surprise surprise, the person who produced their albums did this one afaik.
The first track is a decoy.
"Bubble & Scrape" is the fourth album by American indie rock band Sebadoh. Sebadoh is a band composed of three members (Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr. fame), Eric Gaffney and Jason Lowenstein) who all each write, sing and are capable of playing all the rock band instruments. No division of labor here. So, on this album, all three members contribute songs which tend to sound unique to the writer. It was the first album recordered entirely profession in a studio away from their previous lo-fi homemade approach. Oh, there's still roughness to the edges here, though, as styles range from 60's garage to punk to grunge to power pop. Stoner rock too by the way. The album opens with Barlow's "Soul and Fire." Heavy, clear and melodic guitar. Sort of grungy. "Saying goodbye was never so much fun." A great 90's indie song. We get a sense of what Gaffney brings to the table in "Telecosmic Alchemy." Tinny drumming. 60's garage and punk. A chugging guitar. This is a combo of Sonic Youth and Mudhoney. And, Lowenstein gives us "Sister." Harder, dustorted guitar. Punk. Screaming. We've gone back to Hüsker Dü "New Day Rising." "Emma Gone Wild" brings some pyschedelia with a scratching-sounding and groovy guitar. The highlight might be Barlow's "Homemade." A song that builds slowly. A soft-loud-soft dynamic. A great guitar solo. A droning guitar puts this to me in the stoner rock genre. This is a sound that Chicago's Red Red Meat would use in a few years after that on two fantastic albums. The album ends with three songs from each of band members. Gaffney's "Bouquet for a Siren" is harder, has driving guitars and a faster beat. I'm hearing The Meat Puppets now (I name dropping way too much by the way). Barlow's "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)" is the album's only acoustic song. A love song of sorts. The Swirlies' Sean Carmody on backing vocals. Finally, the band ends it with a bang in Lowenstein's "Flood." Screaming. Punk. 60's garage rock. "Yeah, get in the car. We're going to ride with the flood tonight. Sometimes this album comes off as a compilation album with the distinctive sounds of each songwriter. For me, it worked fine as a whole, probably, since I can't recall hearing influences of so many different bands all of which I like. If you're a fan of early Dinosaur Jr. (and who isn't?), you'll like this. Their next album "Bakesale" is also recommended.
Over 200 albums in, and eventually I'll learn to stop pre-judging albums. I fully expected to hate this, but this was significantly better than I expected. Certainly a much different direction than I anticipated. In fact, the direction of the album varies so much from track to track. That can be a drawback in a lot of cases, but I dig it overall. It's the line between being weird for the sake of being weird and being weird to be genuinely interesting. This falls heavily on the positive side of that. Favorite track: Sacred Attention
It's very nice to listen to something that sounds "grunge" besides Nirvana or Pearl Jam, but also has many experimental songs with a kind of metal that is good even not understanding everything. In short, it was good to know this album, even not being the best one on this list until now. Probably, I will listen to it again someday...
lo-fi was one of my favourite styles in the 90s, but Sebadoh was always somewhat eclipsed by Pavement. For me, Pavement are definitely the more essential of the two with the passage of time. Still. this album's a decent example of a great genre
good one 7.
Très original, j'étais pas complètement séduit, mais il y a vraiment de quoi d'avant-gardiste et d'unique dans cet album. C'est un album qui est aussi à l'opposé du terme "monotone" puisqu'il n'y a pas un moment pareil sur l'album, mais sans jamais sortir des sentiers indie rock. Définitivement à réessayer. 7/10
This one was much more expansive and sprawling than the Sebadoh tracks I’d heard prior. There are definitely moments of fatigue given the length and instrumentation choices on the LP, but once I had an understanding of what was going on I felt this one hit a groove of its own. Shame the bonus tracks aren’t available on US Spotify, as the few I tracked down added some Interesting layers to the sounds the main LP had built up.
The whole alternative indie rock Fugazi, Dinosaur Jr., and now Sebadoh thing is a bit too artsy for me. Critics love it but I don't think it's as good as they gush. It's not bad, sometimes really good, but I think there's a few too many of these albums on the list. I really came to enjoy Soul and Fire (nice balance of chords, plucking, and distortion) and Cliche (subtle but well-composed). Sister (good energy but the vocals...), Sacred Attention (also good energy, vocals fine), and Homemade (another subtler but deep piece) were also pretty good. But on other songs the time signatures or experimental touches or vocals are too off-putting; listen to Telecosmic Alchemy, Fantastic Disaster, Elixir is Zog, or No Way Out for what I mean. It's not awful, it's just too much trying to be creative.
first song is the only good song.
Ok. Call me picky but grunge era has a sound to it that is a little, just a hair, out of tune. But when the whole band is out of tune it sucks. Especially when they aren’t even out of tune together. Anyways, this is a no for me. Not my jam.
I had a hard time connecting with most of the songs on this album. Nothing carried a tune really and the lyrics just disappeared.
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Niet echt geweldig
Intentionally dissonant poverty tier indie rock. This is the sort of music that's easy to imagine someone creating, and even easier for me to make satire of. Shocked that people seem to like this. Is this really an example of best-in-class 90s indie rock? Grating and unpleasant.
I listened to this once and had the weird feeling that there might be something here that I like but at the same time I couldn't point to anything good about what I was hearing. Listened to it again and the weird feeling that I might like it was gone. Completely gone.
cool
Oddly enough, I was more team Sebadoh than team Dinosaur Jr. during the "alternative" nineties (Sebadoh's Lou Barlow played bass and sang in Dinosaur Jr. before he was fired from the band). Jay Mascis's songs had too many guitar solos for my snobbish tastes at the time, even if I now recognize Dinosaur Jr.' importance, especially since Barlow reintegrated the band. But to be honest, I've always prefered Sebadoh's organized chaos, emphasizing fully democratic values within the band. And because the music was good too, as strange as those albums by the American band were... There were indeed three songwriters in Sebadoh at the time of *Bubble And Scrape*, and one third of said tracklist was devoted to each songwriter. And this, even if everyone (the audience, the critics, the band itself) knew the best tunesmith was Lou Barlow among those three, thanks to a rare compositional talent that helped him convey deeply melancholic feelings in his own songs. Up to that album, the only melodies really worthy of interest are his, and there are enough of them in it to sell the whole deal. Besides, the songs those melodies are part of are among the most magnificient songs Barlow ever penned in his career: "Soul And Fire", " Two Years Two Days", "Cliche", "Homemade", " Forced Love"... Plus there is the livelier " Sacred Attention", where Barlow mixes his romantic sadcore leanings with an apocalyptic wall of lo-fi guitars. Not to mention "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)", an absolute tearjerker right before the end, where his hushed pleading voice, Seana Carmody's delicate backing vocals, and three simple chords on an acoustic guitar are enough to make you cry. "Let tomorrow be / I can't be so impatient / Pushing every answer / When there isn't any question". Wow. Rarely have songs about a couple in crisis have felt so lived-in. All of that doesn't mean that the two other band members can't bring their own (sour) cream on the melancholic cake. Jason Loewenstein still has to hone his own heavier and grungier-via-hardcore-punk skills at that point, it's true. That said, "Sister" is a great cut, and Jason even visits Lou's angsty and emotional turf with a certain flair on "Happily Divided". As for Eric Gaffney, his dissonant and experimental noisy ventures can admittedly be a breath of fresh air for fans of Syd Barrett (albeit one who would have used a time machine to listen to Hüsker Dü' early hardcore releases). Listen to "Bouquet For A Siren" or "Fantastic Disaster" to get an idea of the sort of crazy shit he could pull off. Not to everyone's tastes, obviously. Yet Gaffney's experiments bring dynamics to the whole thing that keep you constantly on your toes, as bizarre as his compositions are. If there were only Barlow's songs, this lo-fi record wouldn't work in the way it does. Sometimes the sum is worth more than the (discrete) parts. Starting with the next album, *Bakesale*, Gaffney would be out of the picture, making Sebadoh's LPs more easily digestible and/or legible. Which is why I'm surprised this later record is not in Dimery's list, instead of this one. Lou's tunes also shine on *Bakesale*, by the way (as they do in "Harmacy", the one right after), and Loewenstein's upped his game pretty well too. But I guess that's a story for another time, kiddies. 4.5/5, rounded up to 5/5, mostly because I feel that reviewers on this app are a bit lost as to the exact way the very topsy-turvy art of Sebadoh should be apprehended. Always check out Lou's songs first. Then you'll be surprised as to how far you can actually go to eventually appreciate the whole thing. Early Sebadoh is weird because it sort of needs a user's guide. But that doesn't mean they were a "bad" band by any means. Number of albums left to review: 523 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 229 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 110 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 139
Skönt lo-fi sound. Ganska likt Dinosaur Jr vilket inte är så konstigt eftersom Lou Barlow därifrån är med även här. Det är lite för ojämnt med ett gäng usla låtar, men Sacred Attention och Bouquet for a Siren är otroligt bra.
I like the
Jangy good fun
This was a pretty cool alt/grungy type thing
false
👾
Fuck my mouth.
Interesting, great indie rock feel, but I'm not sure any of the songs really hooked me.
nineteen ninety three
a 3.5 , first half is great
first time listen, 4/5!
Pretty unique and interesting take on a classic 90s indie sound, artistic dissonance, all kinds of experimental guitar sounds, blending of genres. A little out there musically but solid as an experimental project
An intriguingly eclectic batch of songs from the aftermath of the grunge boom in 1993. Sebadoh bring the goods as well as the strange and it should be appreciated for just how well-woven it can be. Favorites: Soul and Fire, Two Years Two Days, Happily Divided, Elixir is Zog, Homemade, Forced Love, No Way Out.
Ja, punten voor sebadoh, niet het volle pond, ik bijt namelijk op mijn lip om niet te zeggen dat "andere albums...". Dan kom ik misschien wel als een zeurpiet over..
a little too angsty for my taste but still really enjoyable regardless - 8/10
If you had asked me a day ago who Lou Barlow is I could have told you he was in Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr. and Folk Implosion. Of the three, the only one of those bands I've never listened to though is Sebadoh. Not sure how that happened. What a weird experience this album is. There was more that one tune that had me smashing that skip button pretty quickly. And yet... AND YET! We gotta talk about "Homemade." Holy shit. Go back and listen to that one if you let it just pass over you without paying much attention to it. Because that might be the best 90s era emo song I've never remotely heard of before. Like hall of fame level. I've listened to it three times already and it's going on a playlist. So what I've concluded is that when this band is a little more restrained, a little more quiet, and a little sad... I am a Sebadoh fan. "Happily Divided" is great. "Sister" and "Cliche" I liked a lot. Gimme "Think" all day long. But "Elixir is Zog"? "No Way Out?" Hard pass. I can't with the lo-fi spazz out stuff. The songs that sound basically like Dinosaur Jr. without Mascis on guitar aren't cutting it, man. And that stinks. Once we finish this list twenty-four years from now if someone asks me to name a record from it that had the highest highs and lowest lows, all on the same album... my answer might be this one.
Some of the heavier songs and the more punk-rock ones are good, but the rest of the album is generic alternative.
First time hearing this band but thoroughly enjoyed it!
Really enjoyed this, some of it sounds like early Biffy, or gentle Nirvana, but it is still entirely its own thing. A band I plan to seek out more from.
Suprised me in a good way. I've listened quite a few 90's rock albums through here, but none of them had stand out like this one until now. fav track: Homemade
I over looked this at the time. A lot of interesting material on here.
A little bit of Bauhaus. Has that Boston - The Feelies - vibe. Fits in my wheelhouse
This listener is a sucker for indie rock, and this album did not disappoint at all. Granted, after some time the search for indie rock tends to dwindle as a few indies grow up and join the so-called mainstream, but this one from 1993 is a very welcome throwback to the less complicated, the more intentional creation of independent rock. Warm instruments, restrained drums, melodic vocals, dare it be called 'emo', no, this was better than emo. It is what emo should have stayed being, good writing and enjoyable to listen and relate, not some whiney-complain-y mess. This was a neat surprise, a perfect album for less than energetic days, just a really good listen.
If you only listen to mainstream, commercial music then this album would be easily dismissed. The sound is lo-fi, the instruments sound out of tune at times and the singing isn't strong. Lou Barlow (formerly of Dino Jr), isn't seeking commercial success or accolades for his music, instead he delivers some raw, heartfelt music that could be considered indie, alternative, or just plain weird, but it's the kind of music I've come to appreciate and I'm glad this list acknowledges musicians and bands from outside the "norm". Bubble And Scrape was actually recorded in a professional studio instead of "home-recorded", so this would be considered a more polished work compared to previous albums. I like it, we need more bands like Sebadoh and musicians like Lou Barlow that push the boundaries of quality music instead of the bland radio-friendly schlock we have to endure most of the time.
It's like Dinosaur Jr. but it isn't
Really like Sebadoh and have been listening to them for years. Soul and Fire is a banger and the rest of the album is a bit of a rollercoaster from mellow to frantic. I think I prefer Bakesale but still great album
3-4 but I'm feeling generous today
Album starts very weird and extremely disjointed, but it gets better. Those first few tracks I didn't really enjoy but in the end it's a yes from me and they've pulled through hah. At the end album gets weird again! Saved tracks: Fantastic Disaster, Happily Divided, Sister
This shit should have been huge in 1993. My hunch is the rock press was too enamored with the Billy Corgans, Eddie Vedders and Kurt Cobains to even notice this album. I was working for a college radio station at the time and even I have no memory of this, the definition of flying under the radar.
That was awesome. It's noisy, sludgy, gloopy and yucky. It's like somebody took a regular grunge band, trapped them in a steel shack in the middle of the desert and recorded them through a Speak&Spell toy. The musical equivalent of CCTV footage.
I’ve always enjoyed the Barlow-led songs of Dinosaur Jr. I don’t enjoy him any less in Sebadoh. Bubble And Scrapes ranges from the frantic and hysterical, “Fantastic Disaster” and “No Way Out”, to absolute pieces of beauty like “Soul and Fire” and “Think (Let Tomorrow Bee”.
Very enjoyable indie record which is not afraid to be gritty and dissonant. Barlow is great as always.
I like Sebadoh a lot and generally in the order Barlow > Loewenstein > Gaffney (although the mix is definitely an added value). For that reason later albums are preferred, yet this one is much more than ok.
Deze kan ik wel smaken
- Girl Band by moment (noise rock with focus on voice ) - Duster by moment ( slacker rock ) - Some strong tracks but some really bland - Guitar is p cool ngl - 7.6
I liked it a lot. Meat puppets esque
Thing about this one, there are some really really great songs on here, but the bad ones are so bad.
The first Sebadoh release recorded in a professional studio manages to maintain the lo-fi aesthetics with a higher caliber songwriting (divided among the three talented songwriters) and instrumentation. Songs are uniformly strong. Soul and Fire, Think (Let Tomorrow Bee), No Way Out and Happily Divided are standouts. I am not sure it makes my list, but well worth a listen..
Ça parle à mon côté plus heavy. L'aspect dissonant et les deux chanteurs sont une belle touche.
Good record! Never listened to it before but it’s good indie rock
Some hits and misses, but I must come back
8/10
This is similar to a lot of the indie rock we’ve had on the list, but it’s good nonetheless. ‘Soul and Fire’ is an especially good song. I liked it, but it’s kind of weird it made the list.
Very splendid and calming yet fun album
This album has songs created by each of the 3 musicians which makes for something truly chaotic. It sounds shitty and messy, so I love it.
Enjoyed this one.
Lou Barlow being in Dinosaur Jr. really makes sense here. Well-crafted, grungy pop songs that turn into hippie freakout music really quickly. Can be a little schizo with three separate writers each creating separate tracks. Favorite tracks: "Think", "Elixir Is Zog", "Soul And Fire"
One of the better albums from the grunge era
Some nice lo-fi on here. Will need to check out some more.
Lovely guitar noises abound
One of the most schizophrenic albums I’ve ever heard. Starts out normal, then all of a sudden gets weird, and then very weird, and then back to normal again, followed by more weirdness. I kind of liked it!
fun listen, wish it was mixed a little better though.
homemade och emma get wild gillade jag. Vissa låtar är helt usla. Svårt mellan en tvåa och en trea. Men generellt så har dom ett gött sound som gör att det får bli en trea.
Uusi tuttavuus, ja levyn alku olikin lupauksia herättävää, Pearl Jam -tyyppistä grungefiilistelyä. Eteenpäin mennessä meno muuttui raskaammaksi ja sekavammaksi. Osa biiseistä oli oikein kelvollisia, osa vähemmän. Peruskolmonen.
Fun Sub Pop sound. A little yelly for me. A little Elliott Smithy, though.
Never heard of this band before but I don’t mind grudge. This album is decent so far
I think I've listened to some other Sebadoh album previously that gave me the impression they were intolerably twee potheads, but this sounded like more straight ahead indie rock. Didn't leave much of an impression on me at first listen, so went back for a second listen to pick out a fave track ("Sacred Attention", I reckon) and perhaps it is actually pretty above average indie rock? Gonna give it 3 stars for now, but I suspect more listens would get me to bump it to 4...
Decent indie
enjoyable but drags after a while, sounds like a made up band lol
Indy chungo
Bubble and Scrape was a great album. I have been looking to find a good indie rock album recently and this fit the bill perfectly. The instruments here were top-notch. The guitar in Sacred Attention was fantastic. I really enjoyed how different Elixir Is Zog was from the previous songs on the album. The softer tracks like Forced Love and Homemade are great and some of my favourites.
No es mi disco preferido de ellos, sorprende un poco que este aqui. Pero es un buen disco con algunas canciones muy rompedoras. Otras bueno...son demasiada ida de olla.
Good album with the influences it's had on bands that came after clear to hear.
Vähän sekavaa meininkiä, välillä ihan hyvää pop-rockia, mutta sitten taas hetken kuluttua jotain sekoilua ja huutamista. Sekoiluista tuli mieleen Primus.
Quite enjoyed this. Reminded me of several other brands such as Eels and Pixies.
idk. eh.
Decent lo-fi rock album. Flows pretty well, nice vibe, few good songs. Nothing outstanding tho, imo