-- Michael Deeds
EMOH
Lou Barlow
After two decades of intermittent brilliance with Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, the Folk Implosion and as Sentridoh, lo-fi king Lou Barlow has finally released an album under his own name.
For "Emoh," Barlow recorded half the songs live -- just vocals and acoustic guitar -- and added minimal effects later; guests drop in, including Jason Loewenstein of Sebadoh and Barlow's sister Abby on cello. The result is both pure and polished. And there's a Ratt cover!
Barlow is at his best when he plays wry minstrel. "Mary" reinvents the Virgin Birth as Mary's fling with a neighbor. It's blasphemous fun; so is his unplugged, austere "Round and Round," if hair bands are your messiah.
Few can write a hook-filled ballad like Barlow, and "Emoh" is full of them, the best being the understated sea chantey "Royalty" with its emotionally charged chorus. Yet a good portion of the album is tuneful but indistinct on the first few listens, which reminds us that Barlow seems to release every song he churns out. (See www.loobiecore.com for demos of most "Emoh" songs.)
Even mediocre Barlow is better than nearly every other sensitive guy who pours his heart into his four-track. "Puzzle" drifts dangerously close to Dan Fogelberg, but there's nothing wrong with the "Emoh" songs save a certain sameness. Lovelorn Lou needs a life-changing event to shake up his songwriting; as he's about to become a dad, that could be the necessary dynamite.
Or how about children's music? Barlow seems to have a knack for it -- "The Ballad of Daykitty" is an endearing, catchy tale of a stray cat who comes to stay -- and cool kids' music is a wide-open niche, craved by parents whose punk collection has too much dissonance and swearing for family singalongs. If he needs an alter ego, dare we suggest "Play-Doh"?
-- Elaine Beebe Lapriore
