LOU BARLOW
Emoh (Merge Records)
Reviewed by Sherman Wick

---

Indie rock singer/songwriter Lou Barlow returns with his first true solo record, after two decades creating records and touring with Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and the Folk Implosion. The latest record is, like his most recent work with Sebadoh, reflective songs, but with the occasional use of tape loops ala Folk Implosion. It is a spare record and eschews excessive production for straight-ahead musical honesty and intimacy. Barlow provides the majority of production and instrumentation along with a few cameos from recent collaborators Imaad Wasif, Jason Lowenstein and Russ Pollard.

Barlow delivers another collection of quirky pop songs. The title track, "Home," is a beautiful melody that is accentuated by a surreal drum loop and cello. "Caterpillar Girl" is the record's strongest pop song as the acoustic guitar plays off of piano, synthesizer and bass fills. The music dovetails with the lyrics about yearning for someone willing to be original and change. To add some levity to the serious pop songs, Barlow covers "Round-n-Round" by '80s hair metal band Ratt. He remakes the song as Nick Drake-style folk ditty: Quietly singing the bizarrely nonsensical lyrics about unrequited love does not elucidate, but only further confounds the listener with its unintentional hilarity. The cover is a hoot! It's the best interpretation that I've heard in recent memory.

Barlow has created another interesting record. But I have one complaint: the record is fourteen cuts and over 50 minutes. A few of the tracks are weak enough that they could have easily been discarded and made this a tighter record with greater impact. But that's a mere quibble.

© 2005 - Sherman Wick