Reviews (page 4 of 8)
If Nirvana made an album with the objective of being dropped by their record label. The maddening thing is every 4th track is great. The rest sounds like band practice at 6th form college
Starts out promising but then pulls in too many directions
I like the opening tracks, but can’t make sense of the long stretches of discordant, messy bits - which must be where the real joy for this record lies. There are unconventional tuning changes between each song, which make the band members sound out of tune and out of harmony with each other - I’m definitely missing the point! I thought I’d like the sound of a more professional “The Shaggs” but with all the energy and raging pulse, Sebadoh lacks their charm.
Feels too disparate to properly land but I really enjoy the bits that do land for me and there are just enough of them to make it a solid 3 for me
it's a clusterfuck of musical stuff that sometimes sounds good but most of the time weird
Listening to Bubble And Scrape, it felt like Sebadoh had some dirt on Dimery. Why am I listening to these mostly shambolic compositions from a guy that got kicked out of Dinosaur Jr.? I asked the internet what bands have cited Sebadoh as an influence, expecting to find none. But the internet said that a handful of bands claimed Sebadoh's lo-fi indie was influential. Including, oddly enough, Dinosaur Jr.--probably sometime after Lou Barlow rejoined. Bubble And Scrape is probably two and a half stars for me, but I will round down out of pettiness.
this pissed me off so bad, for multiple reasons. i think i hate music like this. i do not want to sit through 17 songs over 45 minutes if it sounds like this. i would apologize for being so hateful but i don't have it in me to have decorum about this. and you want to know the worst part?? i actually LIKED a few songs from this album. i can't even rate it a 1 even though i want to. fuck this band and FUCK robert dimery. 2 stars. highlights - sister, scared attention, emma get wild, homemade
After giving them a second listen, I started to appreciate this more. I can hear a lot of different indie artists here, though mostly they sound like Pedro the Lion having a good day. They're scrappy, goofy, energetic... I could see them growing on me.
I had a little obsessive Sebadoh phase around 2005 (Russian MP3 sites and a steady income were a potent combination). It's wild how different this sounds from the (stellar) album, Bakesale, that came just a year later, sans Eric Gaffney. The band described Gaffney's departure as euphoric because he was so difficult to work with. Gaffney's absence clarified what he brought to the table; without him, Lou Barlow's Sebadoh sounds more like Lou's other legendary band, Dinosaur Jr. There's a menacing rockabilly underlying Bubble & Scrape that seems to be all Gaffney. And I'm into it -- though not as much as Bakesale*. This whole album is the sonic equivalent of chaotic neutral. The band sounds loose and a little incohesive, prone to exploring whatever weird whim a song leads them to. Sebadoh gets four stars as a band, but Bubble & Scrape isn't quite up to that territory. *I'm referencing Bakesale so much in part because, like often happens on this list, that superior effort is missing from the 1001 albums.
I realize that this is a very influential album by an influential."grunge"band. Despite its bonafides, this album doesn't do anything for me. I enjoy some of the songs but feel like the more commercially viable grunge bands did a better job of crafting songs as opposed to Sebadoh's skill at creating a vibe.
No pude terminarlo, cada vez se me hacía más pesado. Me suena a a angustia adolescente sin querer indagar más en ello. Tampoco le beneficia que sean de nuevo hombres y en inglés. Qué pesadez.
No pude terminarlo, cada vez se me hacía más pesado. Me suena a a angustia adolescente sin querer indagar más en ello. Tampoco le beneficia que sean de nuevo hombres y en inglés. Qué pesadez.
Fun
Just hits right.
layered confetti encased in wax, sweat, and cigarette smoke - this cover tells me that sedaboh is a low-fi diy operation that isn't concerned with playing OR singing in any sort of semblence of tune. its messy. take it or leave it. I’m gonna leave it. Oscillates between on the verge of anything to slacking so hard that it just sounds bad. Too long.
Not a great record (and that's from someone who grew up listening to Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr) but not a bad one either. I'm gonna give it a 4 though to balance out all the reviews that said it's terrible and gave it a 1. Hey, dad, it's my review and I can score it what I want.
Couple of good tunes mostly forgettable.
I can see why I’d forgotten about Sebadoh.
One I have never heard of, I love when these come up. 2 songs in, seems like pretty standard early 90s grunge/indie. Then Telescopic Alchemy comes on, wtf is this? They decided that one was finished and released it huh? I guess so. The trend continues with the sort of chaotic, almost atonal sound with questionable vocals. Kind of reminds me of Green Jelly a little bit. It then kind of goes back and forth between that kind of chaotic stuff and the more listenable grunge/indie that kicked off the album. I like some of it, don't like some of it. I think the biggest problem is that they just couldn't figure out what this record was going to be. It's really disjointed and uneven. Some great guitar tones here and there and some really good sounding songs next to some that are almost unlistenable. An album I don't think I'll be coming back to 2.5/5
God, this is annoying. Why do people put it on this list? Sounds like some kids got their parents instruments and recorded this is in their basement
OK.
Some decent songs some mid
A little incel coded? Anyway I had kinda vaguely heard of these guys, but wasn't to impressed. 2nd half different and better than the first.
If I could give this negative stars I would
Bizarrely, this album gave off some Foo Fighters (debut album) vibes to me. I don't know if it was the slight similarity in one lead singer's voice to Dave Grohl's voice or the fact both feel somewhat lo-fi at times. Soul and Fire deservedly leads off the album, as it is the strongest track. This one is on the list as it provides a look into early 90's indie rock. I thought it was an okay album and I'm not sure I would care to do a further review of this band's output. Bouquet for a Siren sounds like Fire of Lake by the Meat Puppets, at least to me. My favorite songs were: Soul and Fire Two Years Two Days Sister Sacred Attention Forced Love Bouquet for a Siren
First two songs weren't bad, but what the hell happened after? Hard listen
Pretty cool album.
This is pretty dull stuff. Not bad, but not great...
Nice range of sounds.
It's a bit much for my taste. It sounds a lot like a basement band with crazy, abstract ideas. Elixer Is Zog is insane, not necessarily in a good way.
this album didn’t really hit on first listen, and I wasn’t sure what the vibe that they were going for was - it seemed pretty all over the place On second listen I felt like I got what they were going for - I’m not too big on noise rock but it’s the type of music Helen Kostas and Alex want the band to sound like There was still a lot of songs that I felt were just filler, despite some really good ones in there - Soul and Fire, Homemade and Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) were the standouts
Good solid good cry. Sub pop strikes again. FOUR! Sorta 3.5.
eh, okay
Fine if you like Beck and shoegaze-y stuff. I don't.
Pretty awful jangly guitar and not impressed by the vocals
A lo-fi indie sound that blends sensitivity with punk, folk and rock. I like how raw it is. Modest Mouse might already be sitting in this band’s seat for me.
First time listening to them. Took me a minute to settle in, but I found appreciation with “Homemade.”
А вот и обратный случай: лет десять назад Apple Music считал, что я номер один фанат группы Sebadoh, и скорее всего в этом была как минимум доля правды, ибо это самая сэдбойская музыка в истории музыки. И я был таким несчастным брошенным мальчиком, который совершенно не понимал, что же со мной не так. Я страдал от одиночества и прятался в Лиг оф Лежендз, и слушал нытье Лу Барлоу каждый день. Я помню, как я убежал с какой-то вечеринки, на которой чувствовал себя совершенном одним, шел по Кунцевщине под дождем в пять утра, и пел Soul and Fire. О господи, какая драма! Альбом - просто пиздец. Это просто невозможно воспринимать серьезно, с каким надрывом он поет про очередной брейкап. Драма - это отлично. Но всему есть предел. Лучшая песня - Soul And Fire.
Dinosaur Jr.’s cousin who’s really into Captain Beefheart.
Enjoyed this. But indistinguishable from any other NW US indie grunge of the time. Listened 3 times and can't remember any specific tracks, but end to end it's a good listen. So I lied, I do remember Fantastic Disaster for its great use of harmonica. I hope it was a pisstake because it made me smile. 3½
Miserable men with guitars have a certain charm
I liked how there were unexpected parts
Sleeper album! Never heard of this band but was pleasantly surprised. Good 90s Indie-Grunge feel to it. Would definitely listen to this again all the way through.
**In-Depth Review: *Bubble and Scrape* by Sebadoh (1993)** Sebadoh’s fourth studio album, *Bubble and Scrape*, released in April 1993 via Sub Pop, is a pivotal moment in the lo-fi indie rock canon. It marks the final appearance of founding member Eric Gaffney and the band’s first fully studio-recorded effort, signaling a shift from their early cassette-collage aesthetic to a more structured, yet still raw, sound. The album is a fractured, emotionally charged collage of songs by three distinct songwriters—Lou Barlow, Jason Loewenstein, and Eric Gaffney—each bringing their own musical personality to the table. --- ### 🎸 **Music & Sound** Musically, *Bubble and Scrape* is a kaleidoscope of early '90s indie rock styles: melodic slacker pop, noise rock, post-punk, and acoustic balladry. The album’s sound is more varied and adventurous than its predecessor, *Sebadoh III*, with longer song structures and more ambitious arrangements. - **Lou Barlow’s contributions** are melodic and emotionally direct, often leaning into jangly guitar lines and sing-song choruses. Tracks like “Soul and Fire” and “Two Years Two Days” are prime examples of his knack for catchy, melancholic indie pop. - **Jason Loewenstein** brings a harder edge, with songs like “Sister” and “Happily Divided” that channel Hüsker Dü-style punk aggression and raw energy. - **Eric Gaffney’s tracks** are the most experimental, often veering into psychedelic noise or surreal, Beefheart-esque territory. “Telecosmic Alchemy” and “Emma Get Wild” are chaotic, lo-fi freakouts that contrast sharply with Barlow’s more polished tunes. This diversity makes the album feel like a patchwork, but one that captures the democratic spirit of the band. It’s messy, but intentionally so. --- ### 🎙️ **Lyrics & Themes** Lyrically, *Bubble and Scrape* is steeped in emotional vulnerability, romantic disillusionment, and introspection. Barlow’s songs, in particular, are emotionally raw and confessional, often dealing with heartbreak and self-doubt. - “Soul and Fire” is a breakup anthem that balances poetic melancholy with anthemic release: *“I think our love is coming to an end”* is delivered with a mix of resignation and catharsis. - “Think (Let Tomorrow Bee),” a duet with Seana Carmody, is a delicate acoustic ballad that captures the fragility of a relationship in limbo. - Loewenstein and Gaffney’s lyrics are more abstract or surreal, often reflecting inner turmoil or social alienation in less direct ways. The album’s emotional range is wide—sometimes painfully sincere, sometimes sardonic or chaotic—but it never feels disconnected from the lived experience of its creators. --- ### 🎛️ **Production** Produced in part by Bob Weston (of Shellac fame), *Bubble and Scrape* was the first Sebadoh album recorded entirely in a professional studio. While it retains the lo-fi ethos of their earlier work, the production is noticeably cleaner and more cohesive. Instruments are better separated, vocals are more intelligible, and the overall sound has more depth. However, the band didn’t fully abandon their DIY roots. The production still feels intimate and unpolished compared to mainstream rock of the era, preserving the spontaneity and imperfection that give the album its charm. --- ### 🌱 **Influence & Legacy** *Bubble and Scrape* is often cited as a key release in the evolution of '90s indie rock. It helped bridge the gap between the raw, home-recorded aesthetic of early lo-fi and the more polished, emotionally resonant indie rock that would follow. - The album influenced a generation of bands that embraced emotional honesty, sonic experimentation, and a DIY ethos—artists like Pavement, Guided by Voices, and later, Elliott Smith and Death Cab for Cutie. - It also marked a turning point for Sebadoh themselves, setting the stage for the more focused and accessible *Bakesale* (1994). Despite its cult status, the album remains underappreciated outside of indie rock circles. Its fragmented nature and emotional intensity make it a challenging but rewarding listen. --- ### ✅ **Pros** - **Emotionally resonant songwriting**, especially from Lou Barlow. - **Musical diversity**—a wide range of styles and moods. - **Raw, authentic production** that enhances the emotional impact. - **Influential** in shaping the sound of '90s indie rock. - **Standout tracks**: “Soul and Fire,” “Think (Let Tomorrow Bee),” “Homemade,” “Happily Divided.” --- ### ❌ **Cons** - **Inconsistent pacing**—the album can feel disjointed due to the rotating songwriters. - **Gaffney’s tracks** may be off-putting to listeners who prefer melody over noise. - **Lo-fi aesthetic** might not appeal to those seeking polished production. - **Overlong**—with 17 tracks, some songs feel like filler or underdeveloped ideas. --- ### 🧩 **Conclusion** *Bubble and Scrape* is not a perfect album, but it is a vital one. It captures a band in transition, grappling with internal tensions, evolving creatively, and laying the groundwork for indie rock’s emotional and sonic future. Its imperfections are part of its power—it’s a snapshot of three artists trying to make sense of themselves and their world, one song at a time. For fans of '90s indie, lo-fi, or emotionally honest rock music, it’s an essential listen.
This is a combination of my favorite genre and my least favorite genre. So it was guaranteed to either diminish what I love or heighten what I hate. And that’s exactly what it did. This lands right in the middle of mediocrity.
Why do we need to listen to this?
At a time where “Alternative Rock” was shorthand for “grunge,” this band had a foreword-looking style that sounds like if the Strokes played songs written by Jeff Tweedy.
Least said.....
An album that kept me guessing. Just the right amount of edge. Clear influences of punk, but keeps a lid on that anger. Contemporary with Sonic Youth, which is why I think it was included. Overall, very enjoyable album.
very reminiscent of pavement and early elliott smith. i definitely enjoyed the album, but there was a lack of hooks or distinctive instrumentation or structure to fully enrapture me
i'm really surprised i had never heard of them pavement, sonic youth and bright eyes??
Asenteikasta indie rokkia. Aika vahva grunge soundi myös. Perus hyviä kappaleita vaikka osa on taas sillein tahallisen huonoja ja ärsyttäviä. Mää vaan en ymmärrä sitä. Parhaat: Soul And Fire, Sacred Attention, Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)
There are some interesting tracks on this record, and I enjoyed listening to it, but it sounds a bit disjointed, like a compilation. Nothing made me stand at attention, but I do hear shades of bands that came before (Sonic Youth) and after (Hum, Smashing Pumpkins), and nothing sounds derivative here. I would probably have liked this record more if I had heard it when I was in high school, which makes me want to enjoy it more than I do now. It sounds like the indie rock that the slightly older guys I knew in college listened to. It sounds super 90s hip and cool college radio, and I was only ever super 90s hip and cool college radio adjacent. Three stars.
I love Sebadoh but this certainly isn't the album I'd pick. Listen to III or Bakesale. Maybe Harmacy if you're feeling spicy.
Sometimes a good, sometimes a shit
Not a huge indie rock fan. A couple of notable moments, but not more.
Sounds like the fictional band the loner kid would listen to in an indie Coming of Age movie.
Favourite track: Cliche
Kinda all over the place and hard to pin down. Felt at a pivot point in music
Sounds like 90s indy/grunge/garage rock. While I generally like that sound, some of it was too discordant to me, or just uninteresting. There were a few really good tracks though, in particular: Soul and Fire, and Think (Let Tomorrow Bee).
No - I didn't need to hear that before ... anything!
There’s not a lot here for me. It’s not that bad, but also I didn’t like any of the songs.
Surprised to see Sebadoh on this list. This is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite album by them. I hope there are more.
No.
Moments of 90s glory
Durchwachsenes Indie Werk mit einigen Höhen aber auch vielen Tiefen. … Gen Z würde sagen „Ging so“
Otro grupo que parece que está tocando en la habitación de un colega. ¿Cuesta mucho que cante el que sepa hacerlo y no los demás?
I can see how this toes the line of grunge, but it just comes across as more postpunk than anything else to me and that’s not my favorite genre. I can tell how it would be influential to a lot of of those grunge bands from the 90s, but this is just annoying.
Meh
decently fun
Pretty good. A few catchy songs, well written. I’m surprised that I had never heard of this band before, but now I have checked out some of their other albums too. The style and vibe are very similar to the Foo Fighters’ first album; Dave Grohl must have listened to a lot of Sebadoh before writing and recording. It’s not an all time classic, but it’s a solid effort.
Some good tracks, some bad ones. They all combine to sound like something I feel like I've heard before. Not sure how to take it other than 2 stars.
It puzzles me how much American indie bands sound alike.
Not exactly my cup of tea, but it brought back that teenage sense of the futility of being. Back then, I was dating someone into punk metal; he used to share music like that – you suffer while listening, yet somehow it feels good to suffer.
I remember a couple of tracks off this album - dreary and depressing - the others too angry to finish listening to
I love it when he toggles between intensities. His voice is kind and gentle, then 100% metal.
Thanksgiving '00 I was visiting my aunt and uncle on the outskirts of Chattanooga. Lots of sitting around chatting with the extended family. In attendance was a cousin who I have known for years but haven't spent all that much time with. He asks if I want to go to the store to grab something. I am ready to leave the "sitting around chatting" portion of the weekend - however bri fly. We get in his vintage Oldsmobile share a joint and drive around - aimlessly. Not sure we ever made it to the store. Maybe. Probably doesn't matter. What did matter was the tape playing in the tape player - Bubble and Scrape. I like Sebadoh just fine. I saw them a few times. Owned some records - this is not my favorite. But that probably doesn't matter either. What mattered is that for a brief moment 25 years ago youth as a knew it - ended. It was not my marriage or the birth of my first child. It was not getting a real job. Those things were all about to happen. Youth as I understood it in the truest of the word is epitomized by driving around aimlessly, sharing a joint and just being in a moment you don't fully understand in real time. You're just there. No agenda. No destination (except theoretically a possibly non existent store). Talking. Or not. Just driving. And getting lost in some crunchy guitars and strongly held dude emotions seemed to be the perfect soundtrack to the waning moments of true slackerdom. It was a moment.
yeah i like this!
5/10
White noise for art students
Pretty good
Sonido muuuuy interesante. No tienen miedo de meter acordes menores raros de los que suenan "mal", un like por eso. Me ha dado ganas de escuchar más música suya y que yo diga eso es: raro. Una pena haberlo escuchado en mal momento, porque hoy no es sebadoh, es miercoleh :( Favs: Soul and Fire, Two Years Two Days,Happily Divided, Bouquet for a Siren, Think (¿he dicho ya que me gustan los hombres tristes cantando?)
Más lofi noventero let's gooooo Escucho maquetas grabadas en un sótano con mucho sentimiento y poca intención de afinar. Tiene momentos bonitos (Soul and Fire es una joya) y otros que simplemente se ahogan en su propio concepto. Le pasa como al anterior, Guided by Voices, que las canciones empiezan a sonar muy bien justo cuando se acaban. Aunque aquí al menos no hay 28 en 40 min lol En definitiva, un disco muy de su época: perfecto para entender por qué el indie se enamoró del ruido, pero no necesariamente algo a lo que quieras volver cada semana. Favs: Soul and Fire, Two Years Two Days, Sacred Attention
Me parece que el lo-fi de los 90 tiene muchísimo encanto. Partiendo de esa base, incluso con ese sonido característico, me parece que este disco es muy derivativo con canciones que, en su mayoría, no terminan de despegar. Hay sonidos e ideas muy interesantes, pero cuando se está en un puente constante no hay ganas de volver a la canción. ¿Esencial? Puede ser. Suena mucho a su época, es interesante escucharlo. Al menos para tener una idea de cómo sonaba el género. A la playlist: Happily Divided, Emma Get Wild, Think (Let Tomorrow Bee). Por cierto que Danny Brown samplee No Way Out, hay una parte que se presta mucho.
The pieces are there but it wasn't cooked enough. Some good stuff, some annoying stuff.
I kinda don't get it. 3
Gillar den råa stilen på produktionen, vissa låtar är lite lökiga men överlag ganska trevligt!
I think these guys listened to Nirvana quite a bit. It's pretty good albeit not terribly original. Rocks out more than I expected from an indie album. Not perfect but passable.
a cowgirl is getting drunk tonight
Pretty good hate that high pitch ring but soul fire and happily divided were good. If the ringing wasn’t there 4/5 but with it 2/5
***An ok album, only three tracks out of 17 were hard to listen to.
By the third song, what the hell happened?
Bland alt rock. Not interested.
Weder mol so es typisches Noise Rock albom, wie In Utero vo nirvana scho gse esch. Scho das esch e ned so positivi Predestination för mini Bewärtig. Wies halt e so esch habi au do rächt e Reizöberfluetig gha ond das onabhängig vo de Tagesziit. Das chond halt, wemmer probiert möglechst luut z si ond eintersiits alli mögleche Intromänt eifach of einisch spelt, sondern die au so komplett öberstüret (siehe Rockgitarre), dass es au rächt schräg tönt. Eigentlech cha so e öberstüüreti Rockgitarre jo au no cool töne, de mues sie aber gezielt gsetzt si, wasi do öberhaupt ned de Idrock gha ha. Ech ha so au die ruhigere Songs fascht am beschte gfonde. Das ganze dörenand werd i dem Albom de no met rächte Dissonanze kombiniert. Eigentlech ewärs jo fascht ruhiger als In Utero, aber deför halt dissonanter. Au die dissonanz cha t Musig eigentlech mega spannend mache, do hani aber weder de idrock, dass es onzielt ond somet au onpassend esch. So tönts de eifach e chli chrom. Wels de halt ned so spannend esch, fods sech au rächt afo zieh. Dass es 1 Stond lang esch, helft debi au ned bsonders. Es hed sech halt eifach wie es stöndigs Chaos agfühlt woni jetzt fascht froh be dasses döre esch. Aber jetzt gnue negativs! Mer mues jo scho au zuegä dass sie au gueti Riffs do enne hend wo aber halt fascht e chli ondergönd i dem Chaos. Au chonds doch mol vor, dass t Intromänt plötzlech metenand fonktioniered ond so ofne art kommuniziered. Mer cha also säge s potenzial wär do met de riffs ond de abgstommeheit, wärs ned so luut ond so dissonant dass alles weder im Chaos wörd ertrenke.
Owww poor little lad. He has a case of the "cookie at me I'm all sad because I'm useless". Hope he finds something he is good at, singing isn't it.
This was a very odd album. There would be 3 bad songs then a really good song. I cant even tell the tone or type of music this is.
Sebadoh su mi je uvijek bili kao Pavement bez zuba
This was an interesting listen. The first few tracks were just like semi-organized noise and I didn't like them. Then as the album went on, it seemed like the music got better and better, technically speaking. Almost like the musical equivalent of Flowers for Algernon. In the end I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't love it. It had some redeeming features and it had some junk that I don't ever want to listen to again. Three stars.
Me parecen mezclas caóticas que no me despiertan nada positivo
It’s for the background of Gossip Girl or similar American TV teen dramas. Hard for me to treat it as music in its own right.
Downright awful in places, with echoes of that nonsense George Barnwell played us in first year (Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip?), but with sufficient redeeming qualities to settle at a 2.
It's OK. Not enough variety though.
Not a massive fan of lo fi
A pleasant surprise this is on here. Very much in my wheelhouse
I fall for slacker rock pretty easily and this is no exception, enjoyed this one a lot.
Mid
Did not care for this in the least.
this was quite a weird album but in a fun way. a few of the tracks i enjoyed and really got behind but found myself slightly confused at other parts. there was quite a variety within the tracks, with some being slow and others being full of chaos and jarring sounds. it keeps you on your toes - it's impossible to predict which direction it's going to take.
Big Dino fan, only heard one or two Sebadoh tracks here and there. This is excellent grunge music to me, but I guess that's me hearing Kurt Cobain's less grungy stylings' influence on this maybe? Kurt was meant to play a show with Sebadoh opening the day that he killed himself, the saddest moment in music history if you ask me. "Homemade" is an excellent track. Perfect maybe. I'm more into the Barlow written and sung tracks.
Grunge in the right era. Probably overshadowed by Nirvana and others. It's a good mix of Nirvana and Meat Puppets with a sprinkle of early Foos. "Sister" reminds me of "Big Cheese". Not bad at all, but there were some tracks that were very bland which knocks some points off.
I’m not a huge fan of the lo-fi thing AND they suck. I don’t know how revolutionary they were - they sound like Primus only way worse. Not quite a 1 since I didn’t hate some tracks. 2 stars.
Bit of a mixed bag here - liked some songs and others hurt my ears. But a few more in the like column.
I've never heard of this band, but it definitely has all the sounds of a 90s alt-rock band. It has some decent tracks and I enjoyed listening to this one.
I’d rather listen to a rabid raccoon slowly dying in a clothes dryer than that album ever again.
Parts of this I liked, other parts were really not for me.
Typical alternative/rock band. All songs sound alike. Kinda boring.
Never heard of them or this album. Nothing remarkable. US 1001’s are constantly having a go at the high number of mediocre UK Indie bands on the list. Tables turned on this one cos I’m likewise getting sick of these US wannabes who all they want to do is sound like Nivana or Pavement. 2/5 15/9/25
it started out nice then got a little crazy at the end
This was a great surprise. Stellar example of people just making music by themselves wholly their own. Reeks of being made in a house in a liberal arts college town. Not a bad thing.
Never listened to any of this before and it was a bit all over the place for me, but definitely tugged at my high school emo/ska heartstrings. I really liked Soul and Fire, Happily Divided, and Think (Let Tomorrow Bee). Some good heartbreak lyrics! But wow, every song was like a different genre and I don’t know how I felt about it as a whole.
I didn't know this band but they sound like Pavement and Dinosaur Jr and remind me of my know-it-all older cousin telling me I "had" to listen to Pavement to understand music in 1997 and I'm still not convinced. But some songs were good.
Honestly pretty good!
I quite liked Sacred Attention , but then really disliked Elixir is Zog. Overall there were moments I liked here, but also plenty that was just ok. High two.
Hell yeah, this is a great ride!
Started really really well with the first song “Soul and Fire” (conjured Pearl Jam ). “Two Years…” also good. Then downhill for a stretch. But then some gems in the last half. “Homemade” another highlight. It’s raw garage rock, and I appreciate and enjoy a chunk of this album. But some of it just doesn’t sound great to me. Hear the Dinosaur Jr overlap for sure. I do think maybe if I spent more time with it, it could grow on me more. I listened once and was leaning toward a 2. On second and third listen I’m easily a 3 and maybe a high one at that.
This album sounds like if Surfer Blood’s Astro Coast was released 20 years earlier.
Sebadoh inherits the post 80’s punk raw sound and energy into an ultimately polished, but directionless, album with no signature sound. Its greatest contribution is that it provides a kaleidoscopic lens into the experimental directions that rock would take in the decades to follow. Personal highlights tracks include: Soul and Fire, Emma Get Wild, and Flood.
Little rough, raw sounding, with a hint of surf rock. I enjoyed it.
100626 11:37 4
Familiar 90s light grunge inde rock. Not completely terrible but surely not one of the greatest albums.
Just think about everything that you like about the 90s but done worse and by the most annoying people from your high school. This is an absolute regurgitation of everything going on in the 90s topped with a heap of shit. Nothing original or of note on this one. Mostly whiny bullshit.
Uhh. Early grunge and industrial. Hard listen. Not for me and unplugged electric guitar is a difficult sound to pull off. NMH did it so much better.
Ugh! Just a mess -All over the place. Nope
Caught somewhere between Nirvana and Weezer.
Hm... First track started and I thought omg a 5 star album. WRONG! What the hell happened in the middle of this album?? Quite a few songs were decent - some I enjoyed more than others. Then there were some truly terrible ones slotted in I can't rate too low, so I'm going down the middle 3 ⭐️
Love it.
Fine wouldn't listen again. 1.6/10
First song was just fine. Pretty generic indie rock. No song above a 3, three or 4 songs I goat out didn't like.
Felt like I should be listening to this at a skatepark.
I’ve attempted many times to listen to Sabadou with little success. The first four songs are almost unlistenable, chaotic, and tuneless. I don’t know if there are better albums by this band, but if this is them at their best, no thanks. To get a better example of this style of music listen to Pavement.
Started decent and then slowly but surely went straight to Hell. 2/5
This was all over the place, and not always in a good way. 2/5
I could barely finish listening to this album. Sounds messy and unstructured. The first song is on a different level than other songs, the only reason why I gave this album 2 stars instead of 1.
Track 1 started and I had really high hopes for the album…and then it got a little screamy for my taste. 3.5 rounded down.
Some of this I quite liked, some not at all. 2.5 rounded down.
I need to come up with a keyword I can ctrl+f for to indicate an album I need to return to. I’m giving this a 3 now, but it could be a 4 or even a 5 with more listens, I think.
It's rough around the edges, but Lou Barlow has a great voice and amazing chord voicings, which bring a beauty to even the harsher tunes
Mhe ni fu ni fa
This is the reason why I started this project, because I genuinely had never heard of this before, but this was such a good listen! Most of the songs had a pretty fresh sound (at least for the time I suppose) and everything flowed pretty well. Except for the end of No Way Out, not sure what was going on there…
This was unexpected! And I quite liked it. Right up my alley. I wouldn’t say it’s a must-listen unless you’re into this stuff though. Like, this is leagues below Pavement & GBV etc. But it’s still very cool lo-fi indie rock, sometimes pretty, sometimes chaotic, cozy, freaked out.
Say! These guys are pretty good! Someone should sign them to a record deal! Anywho . . . this was a blast from my past. And I was definitely surprised to see this record come up. Sebadoh has better albums than this one, and I'd be even more surprised if there was ANOTHER Sebadoh album on the list. But I guess this is the "important" one? There are some good tunes on here (mostly Lou Barlow's), but as with most Sebadoh albums, it's a very inconsistent listen. I found myself wondering if I had talked myself into thinking I liked the band more than I actually did just because they're a Dinosaur Jr. offshoot. Also, I find my patience for the lo-fi approach, which I claimed to love when I was younger, has faded. Maybe it's just the improved home-recording technology. It's hard to get past, "I could record something that sounds better than this." (And if you think THIS album sounds lo-fi, take a listen to the albums they released before this one.)
Lordy, this album is great! I've long been a fan of Sebadoh-adjacent bands and have even listened to Bakesale a few times, but this really struck a chord, which makes it the first album on here that I've listened to more than once in a day. I especially liked tracks 3, 9 and 15 but there's no real duds in here.
That was fun listening to!
It’s inconsistent like all Sebadoh albums, which is a reflection of how they’re organized and a sort of Minutemen-ish ethos. You’re going to get ballads, noise rock, tongue-in-cheek songs and more. It’s kind of amazing that I had never listened to this album considering I really like III and Harmacy and I’ve listened to every other album. I really can’t explain how I never got to this one, but I’m glad I did. Soul and Fire is super great, and I like a whole lot more. That said, I feel like there are better versions of some of these archetypes in their catalog. Take Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) - it’s a very pretty love ballad. It’s also not as good as Truly Great Thing from III or Willing to Wait from Harmacy.
3/5 - I don't think this is an album of this era you need to hear, but it hits a spot for me. It has several solid tracks with Soul and Fire a clear standout, but Sister, Sacred Attention, and Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) are also really good. This is an album with three separate songwriters, and it really shows, with Barlow easily being the most talented writer of the group. Overall, a good discovery for me, and I'll be back.
The first track was okay. Everything else after that was awful.
Interesting, I've never heard of Sebadoh before and while some of the tracks are just weird and not great there's some that are interesting in different ways. It's not an easy album to describe though Standouts No Way Out Think (Let Tomorrow Bee) 3/5
Something of a Pavement, Dinosaur Jr, Replacements, Guided by Voices hybrid. I love the opening track Soul and Fire. I didn’t get a ton else from the album in terms of head turning moments, but it was a fine album to hear for the first time.
As someone who was living in western Mass in '93, this album will always have a place in my heart. "Soul and Fire" may have been on more than one mix tape I made, but you can't prove it.
Rock, 1993 -> 2
It was definitely a Sub Pop band circa the early 90s. It felt like (and I believe there were) two different song writers for this album, and I definitely preferred one over the other. Overall an ok album, that just didn't do it for me.
This started off pretty cool and melodic but by the time it got to the meat and potatoes in the middle, it lost me. There are some decent tunes but then some far out bad sections. Like real bad sections. Enough to turn me off from the whole album
Woof
Ah, the 90s. This one takes me back to that time where we kept telling ourselves it was cool to not give a shit, and proving it with indie labels showing how much talented artists can put on a shitty sounding record. Don't get me wrong, were it not for these types of albums we may never have escaped the MTV era of overproduced hair bands on our rock radio airwaves. There's moments in here that, I suppose, warrant it's inclusion on this list, but acts like this were a dime a dozen in the 90s
Weird one. I didn’t hate it, it’s definitely one of those albums that was the progeny of a new genre, namely that indie emo thing that happened in the early 2000s. Lots of sounds on this that clearly inspired that sound, but it was too out there for me to really love. Worth coming back to to listen again.
Pretty noisy. Had some good moments, but lacked cohesion over all
Some songs here are really good. I'm a sucker for lo-fi production and experimental song structures. Some of the more... weird songs didn't quite hit for me, which is fine. But it was good to get to listen to this, even if I may never come back to it. 6/10
Not for me
Pretty cool, thought of it as a Pixies-like but one of the founding members was apparently part of Dinosaur Jr. so I'll consider it as the midpoint between both bands
First playthrough, first thoughts.... "uggh!, what is this garbage. The first two tracks are OK, but most of the others are abysmal." First playthrough, towards the end... "OK some of these numbers have merit, and there are definitely flashes of brilliance amongst the dross." Second playthrough... "Why am I actually liking this? It's not going in my collection any time soon, but hell, I'm quite enjoying it" Final verdict... "A band with great potential who seem to enjoy deliberately playing badly, and then surprising listeners with brief displays of true talent. I look forward to hearing some of their later material, which might be a bit more polished, and could even blow me away".
Strikes and gutters. Well, spares and gutters…8s and gutters…
An absolute masterpiece that I would probably hate if it was something new that came out in 2025 that I accidentally heard.
finally a 5-star album
Not a fan
Indie rock emerging from the 80s into the early 90s with a sonic boom to break your heart.
I am a fan of grunge and this is very proto-grunge, I can see the influence on all the Seattle bands that I really love.
A not very influential series of songs
i do like this sort of 90s indie noise rock bullshit but at the end of the day I'm having a hard time imagining picking this over one of many superior and comparable albums
Decent alt rock
Pretty good. I like a lot of this! I wanna say 4
Very 90s sound- it grew on me over the course of the album
Dunno how I feel about this one. There's a lot going on and it's clearly the sound of a tight band enjoying their music together, but it all blends into a dizzying mush of inconsistent alt kookiness.
Not my cup of weak alt tea
2 or 3 out of 5
I feel like this should have been better. The sound was great; I'm here for the low-fi guitars playing Nirvana-like chords; I'm even here for the discordant harmonica and general cacophony of track 4. Not uninteresting. But the songs are, ultimately, not very good. Overall, it sounded like someone not good enough to get into REM made an album with someone not good enough to get into the Pixies and someone not good enough to get into Nirvana. Perhaps. I didn't like the vocals at all, or I might have awarded a third star, especially since I unexpectedly heard the odd echo of early Roxy Music now and again. I suppose I'm sort of glad to know of its existence, but I didn't find many songs I could engage with.
I actually enjoyed this far more than expected to. Which isn’t really saying much.
Good rhythm guitar but overall meh
my sister came in to turn it off, so...
meh
Early indie rock with some whiffs of emo on it, although I don’t know if either of those genre terms were kicking around in the 90s. There’s even some hardcore elements in here. It’s ahead of its time in its own way. A lot of interesting moments scattered across this album. I came close a few times to really enjoying it, but found myself having to work hard to stay engaged. The vocal delivery is often dulled, which didn’t help. It does pick up as it goes on, but nothing really stuck to my ribs.
Maybe a 3.5. Really a mixed bag.
Ended up really enjoying it. Sounds like dinosaurs jr and sonic youth but I preferred this I think
Unlistenable.
Sans intérêt. Ça ressemble à plein de chose déjà entendu mais ça manque d'énergie.
For a 90s heartbreak album i enjoyed it more than i expected!
трагедия
While this is an album that could grow on me because of some good songs like "Emma Get Wild", there are lot of other songs that don't catch me emotionally. Especially the first tracks are rather annoying. I nearly turned the album off. I heard better stuff. This album is ok, but I don't need to have it on this list.
Boring for me, not my style Favourite song: Soul and Fire
I don’t like Indie Rock. Getting tired of all these bad albums on this list.
I liked a couple tracks but a lot is cacophanous and dissonant - didn't like the vocalist much.
I love Dinosaur Jr. I like other Sebadoh albums. I hate this. 1/5
No
Not bad.
Fine Shouldn't be on the list, but good to an extent
Lou Barlow is great! I'm a sucker for early 90's rock and this doesn't disappoint. Sure it has a few weak tracks but overall a fun album.
Rough edged, kinda-grunge. Sometimes you can hear tinges of Dinosaur Jr (obviously).
A good listen. Indie/LoFi
I liked this one quite a bit. I was the only one in the car that did.
Decepcionado, llegué al tercer tema y ¡Kaput!
Ga meg ingenting
Nah.
Alright, 4
Interesting only when the melody is allowed to move alongside the vocals. Gets tiresome when they "rock" out. Lot of samey songs too. A band that could have been great. This is a slog of an album though.
Not for me
Heard it before. Not my favourite from Sebadoh but it's still pretty cool albeit a bit too long 2/5
Sounds like alternative rock. Started out good and had a few pretty good songs but then balanced them out with some really terrible ones. Sounded sloppy and had some of the worst harmonica I’ve heard on one of the early tracks.
From the clear guitars and the gloomy bass as the first track started I could tell this could be good. Never heard of them prior to now. Great album.
Mmm, and ouch.
Never heard of them, but they weren't terrible! Good 90s album but nothing to write home about! Decent by all standards
Bland and poor. Limp indie guitar rock. Puny production. Forgettable songs and base level musicality. I have no idea why this record made this list.
Kp hat mir garnet abgeholt
"Soul and Fire" was nice, and I liked "Homemade" and "Bouquet for a Siren". The rest was discordant and not all that enjoyable, kind of an odd grunge/shoegaze crossover.
7/10
Never heard of Sebadoh before, but that just means that I get to go into this album without any preconceived notions about the band. After listening, I think it's good. It definitely reminds me of Guided By Voices, what with the lo-fi production and such. I liked it well enough there and I like it well enough here. The singing is interesting, but mostly good. The writing is definitely that of an indie album that's for sure. Apparently the work for this album was split pretty evenly between the band's 3 members at the time, which is cool. I do think that the album peaks with its opener, that being the stellar "Soul And Fire." Not every song bangs as much as I'd like, but the album's got some good songs to it. I think this album's alright. I'm glad that I listened to it. I don't know if it needs to be here, but I'm not upset that it is. High 3/5.
3 o 4 canciones buenas, nada más.
Not really my vibe. Some of the songs I enjoyed the music but some of them were a bit too screamo for me and I was not the biggest fan of. 5/10
Middle of the road, would probably come back to given more time with it
Enjoyed parts of this but very odd to be on this list
I always kind of forget about Seaborg. Or Sebadoh, idiot auto-correct. First thing I’ve added to my library in a while.
sounds like something I would have made in my parents garage in my teens on my Tascam 424 Portastudio (but maybe a little cleaner and more experienced). It's a fun album, but not life altering.
Not my thing.
I don’t know why this album is on this list. It’s dull, thick and drowsy.
Meh. Honestly pretty boring rock, which does not seem technically adept. Still, I didn't hate it.
This is really the kind of indie rock I love. There's a very shoegaze-y kind of sound to it without fully committing to that genre, instead moving from more aggressive, harsh edged sounds to softer ones that sometimes reminded me a little bit of elliott smith. The emotional journey here was really intense, like this seems very much like a breakup album, and whoever it was he had been dating has clearly got him all fucked up. That kind of heavily emotional music appeals to me, though. This is definitely an album that will be in heavy rotation for me. 5/5.
Not sure how to describe this one. It's got a grunge wanna-be sound, and it's up and down, from slow to garage rock. Inconsistent and, overall, unimpressive.
I liked the first song the most by far. it was fine, some of it I didn't love the vibe. I don't remember listening to it because it was in the morning i had a long day and it’s now tomorrow.
3/10 - this album is bad it’s screamy and weird and sounds similar to the other songs on this album
Like this typa laid back indie rock a lot. Definitely had potential to be a much better album, I feel like the vocals don’t work as well as they should on a lot of the tracks. Still pretty good
Who is this for lol. The instrumentals are decent, everything else is just too pitchy and noisy for my taste.
7/10
7/10
I really didn't like this one. There was metal elements I don't enjoy and I felt it sounded too chaotic and discordant at times.
I probably would love this if I had encountered it in 1993, but I didn't.
I half love this and half hate this. 50/50 split. The first 2 tracks are nothing who cares alt rock. Then it gets aggressive and weird for a while. It just switches back and forth a couple times between speedy growls and the most boring crap of all time. Im gonna have to give it a negative for the whiplash
it's very 90s indie rock, coming across as a slightly less ragged beat happening-esque sound.
Soul and Fire is just OK... and nothing else on here is as good as it.
Bubble and Scraping the barrel - how does shit like this end up on the list. I doubt this would feature in the best 1001 albums of 1993
Gloriously ramshackle but more genius hits than misses and an extra star for Flood
1. Soul And Fire: Nice tinny guitar tone. Lyrically not what I need right now. 2. Two Years Two Days: Same guitar tone continues. A bit more of a gruff tone to this one than its predecessor. Again, lyrically not what I need right now. 3. Telecosmic Alechemy: Desperate and angsty, driving rhythm. Even more gruff than track 2. Might find a home on Nirvana's "Incesticide". At times the guitar verges on no wave technique. This one made the playlist. 4. Fantastic Disaster: Nick at Nite vocals. Not going to elaborate. Song is named appropriately. About a minute and a half too long. Outro is cool, however. 5. Happily Divided: Acoustic waltz. Here the vocal harmonies mostly work (*cough* track 4 looking at you *cough*). Tasteful blending of noisy electric guitar, well, noises. 6. Sister: Sounds like something off Bleach out of the gate. Obnoxious pre-chorus, but I'm being picky. Nonetheless, it made the playlist. But my goodness that pickup switching in the outro nearly ruined it. 7. Cliche: My immediate instinct was "oh brother", but I'm glad I kept listening. Genuine question, who hurt these guys? 8. Sacred Attention: High school guitar riff. It's overall fine. 9. Elixir Is Zog: Hmm... that name... this song again recalls no wave in my mind, at least during the soft bits of the soft-loud dynamic. The back half's instrumentation is remarkable, breaking into almost robotic wails. It makes the playlist. 10. Emma Get Wild: And wild she gets on this one. A frenzied dance-y track. Perfectly short. Thus... it makes the playlist. 11. Sixteen: Am I the dumb one for not knowing "paregoric"? Or, more likely, did they just crack open a thesaurus and look up "painkiller" to be more grunge? Again, the rhythm guitar is a *touch* sophomoric. 12. Homemade: Well, this one has themes. The soft-loud is tasteful with this one, and the 5 minute length is *almost* unnoticeable. *Almost*. 13. Forced Love: At a certain point, we all need to take a step back and tune our guitars. This one felt like 5 minutes but wasn't. 14. No Way Out: AHHHHhhhh!!!!! Monkey in rage!!!! Tasteful chorus/tremolo on the guitar. Completely devolves after that. The back half is very interesting, me likey. 15. Bouquet For A Siren: This reminds me of something, not sure what. Fun light punk bop. Congratulations, you've made the playlist. Lovely, if abrupt, ending. 16. Think (Let Tomorrow Bee): I'm told this is a collab. The writing style shifts a touch from prior sadder tracks, and Seana Carmody's backing vocals are used tastefully. 17. Flood: Okayyyy! Gettin' after it! This song is about the creatures from Halo. That's my retconned belief. You've made the playlist. This album is spiritually from the Olympia Peninsula.
Eh, I generally thought it was OK at best at times.
If they stuck to their heavier tunes, it would be a great album. Someone decided to have some discordant 'deep' numbers and, in my opinion, they drag down the better songs.
There's good little bits sprinkled in here and there, I've been meaning to go through Sebadoh's whole discography because 'Spoiled' from III is a powerful song. I think this would have resonated with me more when I was younger.
This album flips between so good it’s good so bad it’s good and so bad it’s bad Some of the tracks on here are terrible, but some are terrible in a way where they’re unique and so ameuter that they end up good? And some moment just slap I’m a sucker for that amateur, sloppy accuracy but I’m still pretty perplexed by this one but a pretty good listen Definitely a big Nirvana, Elliot Smith influence on this too. Fav tracks - Soul and Fire - Fantastic Disaster - Sister - Sacred Attention - Elixir is Zog - Homemade - No Way Out - Bouquet for a Siren Worst tracks - Flood
So much fun.
I listened to the original release (17 songs). The album title and song titles were good, and the lyrics were ok. The band seems to have tried to make each track different. Some of the songs were fun, but overall the music did not interest me very much.
A 90s indie band I've never heard of? Intriguing. It is delightfully indie, too. Perhaps they were some of the first to do it. Would have fit right in as one of the bands on Buffy. Like Neutral Milk Hotel, but about dating instead of Anne Frank -- right down to the "we recorded this on an old cassette" vibe. Unfortunately, and I mean this genuinely, the vocals aren't weird or whiny enough for me to find them interesting! Kind of Shins-y. In fact, my favorite part of this album is the guitar(?!?), which is somehow plaintive in that indie-rock-way. The beginning of 'Sacred Attention' even sounds just like Placebo's 'Special K' (if only the middle and end did too). Lowlights: 'Elixir is Zog', 'No Way Out' (don't yell at me)
This first half of this album was ok, but really got interesting for me starting about halfway through with Elixer is Zog. This seems like one that will grow on me, so I'll likely be putting it on again soon. 3.5/5
This album is great. It has a lot of diverse sounds and they're all interesting. I found it interesting that this is related to Dinosaur Jr. 4/5
I don't know about that.
This album has a lot to offer. It also interrupts is offerings to scream at me on occasion. Three songwriters and different stylings create, for me, an uneven album. I happily settle into the lo-fi groove but then get pulled out of that groove by some juvenile outbursts that remind me of, say, the Suicidal Tendencies. Nevertheless, I really like this album most of the time. I want to listen again for sure, and that means 4/5.
I missed this band in the early 90s, and it is a shame because I enjoyed this album. They sound like a garage band that through maturity and discipline graduated to a living room band. And when they stay in that restrained groove they are at their best. The vocals and instrumentation are sharp, crisp, and groovy. I like that they dip back into a more raw garage band style, but when they settle down, they really shine.
Fairly interesting. Not unpleasant to listen to. Just very much an American alt album of its time. Nothing here stands out much.
Whiny 90s white boy music. Enjoyable.
This is the one where they got into their groove. Not yet the genius of Bakesale but still so many bangers.
Didn't really care for it. It wasn't terribly interesting.
Sigh. Mediocrity wrapped in pretension. Sounds like Frank Zappa if Zappa had a brain injury and forgot how to compose and arrange. Or it can sound like slayer on Xanax. That sounds much better than this relentless tripe. And I’ve nothing against stupid lyrics. But Jesus. ‘Don’t bite me on the arm/ Capricorn rising. ‘ it’s hardly Dylan. Or Jimmy Webb. Or Bernie Taupin. This is brain damaged stupidity. It needs help. Maybe an operation. It’s Boston without the sense of joy. (And Boston is the most joyless band I’ve heard). It’s Zappa without talent. It’s a random selection of nothing hiding behind ‘art’. But we can see the F that belongs on the front of 'Art’ and we can smell it too. 1.5 stars. It gets .5 for the audacity of it. But Minus 1 for the execution. So it’s .5.
I am not normally a fan of the wilfully obtuse lo-fi of the 90s. It often fails to rock. The lo-fi thing doesn't concern me; it's the obtuseness for obtuseness' sake. Guided By Voices, I'm looking at you. But this record I enjoyed (much more than, say, Pavement, who I tend to regard as the emperor's new music). It fairly often rocks (eg. Sacred Ambition), the tunes are memorable (eg. Homemade, or Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)), and the album overall is muscular and thought out (eg Soul and Fire). Sometimes it embraces 'weirdness' in a way that reminds me a little of Primus, a very self-aware 'wackiness' (eg. Fantastic Disaster). I am OK with the use of dissonance and/or a failure to tune the guitars (eg. Flood). That's OK, that can rock. A pleasant surprise. Would listen again.
The music I’d been listening to (as well as the music recommended to me here), I just realized, has all been from the sixties or earlier for like a month. I really love music from the sixties. But I was feeling music fatigue. This is something nobody should ever feel! I was bored of music! Finally, the generator decided to lift me from my rut by throwing me headfirst into the 90’s indie scene. Thank god. This was such a balm, such a remedy. I’d never listened to Sebadoh before, but I was immediately into it. Bubble and Scrape, I will be back!
Like a try hard no talent mash up of 90's generic slacker rock.
Yes, hello! I love this! I thiiink I knew that a band by this name existed and my have even guessed the circa genre but otherwise, this here today was one of the nicest AYMHBYD introductions in a long time. See, I had some other indie rock record yesterday, from 2010, where the variety in the songs felt like the pressing of different buttons on a music making machine. Here, it's the genuine expressions of three songwriters who are all in, together, in a diy "Fuck it, we'll do what we want!". And even if some of these may be too carelessly thrown and screamed onto the 4track for me, the next song is always just 90 seconds away. And may be a beautiful pearl. Super nice! --- End of review here --- ... and I poked around in this band's vicinity today, Polvo, Seam, Archers of Loaf. Man, the Americans were so much better at early 90s indie rock than the Brits.
This album kinda sucked. Some half-decent songs. Drumming was the best part, but nothing special.
Like the raw energy of it, but it’s just too rough around the edges sometimes
Felt unfinished if anything. Good in parts not my favourite
Weird, in a frankly quite shit way. It’s a bit like Nirvana / Pixies, but not quite committed to it fully - it isn’t quiet-loud, more quiet-not quite as quiet. A bit rubbish.
This caught my attention a couple times throughout the album. Calling out for me to listen when I was starting to tune out. It has range and isn’t at all boring. I didn’t enjoy all of it, but it was cohesive, the production was fine, writing was fine, instrumentation was what was needed, vocals too, and the lyrics accomplished all that was required. Was pretty good. 3/5
Will be worth another listen
For over thirty years now, I've been wanting to live Sebadoh. But I don't and I should begin to accept that I am the kind of person who doesn't totally get Sebadoh, try as I might.
I liked the fact that I hadn't heard of Sebadoh before, but was disappointed to discover that there was likely a good reason for this. It's hard to imagine a more generic and largely bland version of late 80s/early 90s alt/indie music than this album, sadly (and I was not at all surprised to read that one of Sebadoh's founding members was the rejected bass player from Dinosaur Jr). On the positive side, though, I was grateful that they'd chosen to avoid having the ubiquitous wall of noise on most of the tracks completely overwhelm the vocals; a bit of a shame that the surprisingly intelligible lyrics weren't particularly interesting or insightful. I also appreciated the brevity of most of the tracks--that definitely helped their forlorn medicine go down without too much aftertaste (and a bit bizarre to read that this album marked a phase of *longer* songs). My choices on the album were probably "Happily divided", "Sacred attention" and "Forced love" (plus kudos for the Soul Asylum lookalike "Bouquet for a siren"). It's a bit hard to believe that this was already their fourth album, with more on the way....
This one really threw me. They don't seem to stay in a particular lane; I got notes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Black Sabbath, and a whiff of Wilco in "Homemade." I think they're capable of a really great album: (they can play, they can write, they can sing) but this wasn't it.
I've heard too many of these now, I feel I am rating them lower as a result, but if I'm going down I'm taking you all with me.
Not for me. Didn’t finish - couldn’t do a full hour of this
Fun! There is always a soft spot in my heart for dissonant indie garbage from the 90s.
indie rock that really blows your socks and speakers off. it's probably one of the more emotional ones in this collection too, with passionate tracks that make it perfect for puke-inducing breakups. there's a great concept at play here, but within all the cool fuzzy tracks that almost take inspiration from 60s rock ballads are a few tracks that sound REALLY dissonant. maybe it would hit harder if i was going through... all that? i dunno. the sound sometimes throws me off. props to them for experimentation!
I thought this album had a few bangers especially early on in first track "soul and fire". I also think this was a mistake as they put the most played song at the beginning—inevitably setting high expectations for the rest of the album. This is my first time listening to Sebadoh and my first impression is that they are sort of eccentric indie rock. A few of the songs had quite off putting parts but other than that it was a pretty solid listen.
I liked the first song and then I don’t know what happened
I liked the first track all right but it got me singing the Roches’ “Married Men,” which has the same chord changes. otherwise unmoved..
This is exactly the kind of thing I was listening to in the early 90s. Wondering why I've never heard of them! i really liked most of it and will be listening again.
Funny, while everyone knew about the scenes in Seattle and Minneapolis, in fact indie bands were growing like asparagus in western Massachusetts; this is a solid example of this kind of thing. I like Lou Barlow's songs better than Eric Gaffney's.
I'll probably revisit it some day
The sort of thing that would make your dad yell “Turn that racket off” if he heard it. And you know what? He’d be right to.
There were some parts where I thought it was good, and then others that were just out of tune and sounded horrible.
I really wanted to enjoy this, but I just couldn't get into it.
Make your mind up mate, are you angry or not? It's not bad enough to elicit an emotional response from me but it's pretty bad. Does that make it worse? Who knows. Get out of here Sebadoh and think about what you've done.
A couple of good songs, and a bunch of screaming terribleness.
Such a shame that at midnight on December 31st 1989 the entire music industry got hit by a train and forgot how to make music that sounds good for a whole decade. Just 10 years of the most hideous garbage you've ever heard. I hate the 90s.
I don't think any Sebadoh fan would say that this is the "must listen" album. In their original configuration, "Sebadoh III" is the better choice. After Eric Gaffney's departure, the albums "Bakesale" and "Harmacy" featured Sebadoh's strongest and most accessible material. Any of those three records would be better for this list. But, hey, I'm just glad to see any album from them here. Tack on a half-star because I have a darkly funny story about Sebadoh's Lou Barlow and The Lemonheads' Evan Dando. Too long to tell it here.
2.5
Like all Sebadoh albums, the Barlow tracks stand out while everything else is anywhere from fine to garbage.
Oh wow, some Sebadoh. Nice surprise. I missed this album at the time, though knew Sebadoh III well, so listening is kind of an old and new experience together. Maybe it's the slight lack of familiarity that means I don't love it quite as much as III or the later The Sebadoh, but still really enjoyed.
meh