Utof Daily aar BM
Latest Album Defines Sebadoh's Sound
Sebadoh will embark on a
tour in support of it new CD
'The Sebadoh/ which
will be released Tuesday.
By Ashley Atkinson
Staff Writer
t The title of Sebadoh’s new album,
The Sebadoh, has no hidden meaning,
claims its press
rle lease.
Instead, it’s
“the definite
article: the
-definitive
iSebadoh.” That
insight bfe true,
§§| CD Review
Sebadoh
The Sebadoh
rrrr
las the album brings Sebadoh to anew
'plane of cohesion while still retaining
the fractured artistic vision that distin
guishes the band from its contempo
raries.
Sebadoh’s first incarnation came in
1986 as guitarist/vocalist Lou Barlow
and drummer Eric
“ijlaffney. After
Barlow was evict
ed from the other
band he played in,
Dinosaur Jr.,
Seba and o h
regrouped and
added the talents
dl bassist/vocalist
Jason Loewenstein.
Sebadoh and
Elliot Smith
The Rib
March 21
sl3 in advance
sls at the door
At first, the band leapt to various
musical extremities as all three mem
bers of the band wrote and sang their
own songs. Over the years, however,
Sebadoh has become increasingly
focused and less conflicting in its musi
cal impulses.
With the accompaniment of new
drummer Russ Pollard, that trend con
tinues on The Sebadoh, the band’s sev
enth album.
Although The Sebadoh finds less dis-
Jam Band Leaves Cradle Crowd Wanting ‘moe’
By David Povill
Staff Writer
moe brought its own lights, its own
decorations and its own style of music
Thursday for one of the best concerts
the Cat’s Cradle has ever seen.
With its unique brand of loopy cho
ruses, playful riffs and the best 20-plus
minute jams (behind the Grateful Dead
and Phish, of
course), moe H CONCERT REVIEW
kept a capacity
crowd hopping moe
around like Cats Cradle
spastic trout Feb. 11
until the wee gje gg gg gg
hours of the W W W W V
morning. *
moe is a quartet, with lead
singer/bassist Rob Derhak at the head.
Certainly not outshined, however, are
equally talented Chuck Garvey on gui
tar and vocals, A1 Schnier on guitar and
vocals and Vinnie Amico on the drums.
All the members are amazing musi
cians, and all are given the chance to
prove that through jams which last any
where from three to 30 minutes. Garvey
and Schnier took turns playing both
rhythm and lead guitar - each with
their own style - each giving amazing
performances. Derhak slaps his bass
with a prowess reminiscent of the great
Les Claypool of Primus. And Amico
holds the whole thing together on the
drums.
The group has a large cult following,
similar to that of its close buddy band,
Phish. Many of the fans who flock to see
Phish now also flock to see moe, some
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Sebadoh utilizes the singer/songwriter talents of both guitarist Lou Barlow, center, and bassist
Jason Loewenstein, right. Drummer Russ Pollard rounds out the band's lineup.
parity between the members’ respective
songwriting, there is still a marked dif
ference between Barlow’s and
Loewenstein’s work.
Loewenstein’s strained, harsh wailing
and yelling meets head-on with Barlow’s
low, soothing voice in a battle for vocal
dominance of the album.
Barlow contributed six of the album’s
15 songs, of which “Weird” most exem
plifies his clean, structured, melodic
style. Barlow also penned the slow bal
lad “Love Is Strongc” and the ’7os
esque folk-pop of “Tree.”
His songs are mostly abstract rumi
nations on life and relationships,
although he does take a stab at social jus
tice with “Colorblind.”
even believing that moe has surpassed
its mentors.
But, the band doesn’t offer the
grandeur and full experience that a
Phish concert can offer.
What it does provide is a highly ener
getic, ass-kicking romp, a feast for the
eyes as much as for the ears.
moe brought its own lighting and
decorations, and it definitely paid off.
The lights were amazing and the deco
rations a little trippy (hanging metal
plates with images of cacti and other
objects painted in Day-Glo paint).
As for the highlights of the show, the
band created two memorable moments.
For the first one, Derhak broke into
an absolutely incredible bass solo, slap
ping and popping and eventually just
smacking and pounding his guitar for
upwards of three minutes, sending the
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DIVERSIONS Musk
Barlow is responsible for the album’s
first single, “Flame,” a heavily rhythmic
anthem more slickly produced than any
other track on the album. Although the
tune is repetitive, it’s also insanely
catchy and will surely do well on mod
em rock radio.
Loewenstein’s songs clash against
Barlow’s melodies with a dose of heavy
handed guitar and a looser structure.
Unlike Barlow, almost all of
Loewenstein’s eight tracks feature noisy,
discordant instrumentation, wavering
between the Sonic Youthian jangle of
“It’s All You” and the raucous, heavy,
almost-punk of “So Long.”
The Sebadoh is an album of mostly
mid-tempo rockers that, although more
ill-rhythmed dancing fans into a fevered
frenzy.
But Derhak’s greatest feat of the night
came at the beginning of the second set.
Before the set break, the band
informed the crowd that it could drop
off announcements in a basket at the
front of the room, to be read aloud by
the band.
Derhak was about to read an
announcement when he started laugh
ing and informed the crowd that he
couldn’t read it out loud. After much
goading, he announced, “Marcy wants
Rob to smack her ass like he smacks his
bass.” Of course, Marcy was called to
the stage and all her wishes were happi
ly granted.
With great lighting, incredible music,
and hilarity and hijinx, moe offered the
perfect Thursday night alternative to
polished, still reflect shades of Sebadoh’s
10-fi early days when the band recorded
its songs at home on a four-track.
Although perhaps more cohesive
than earlier Sebadoh albums, The
Sebadoh is by no means the hallmark by
which cohesion should be measured.
In fact, if you put Barlow’s songs and
Loewenstein’s songs on two separate
albums, they could easily be mistaken
for two entirely different bands.
Barlow’s tracks are more listener-friend
ly, but the polarity between the two
makes for a slightly unsettling but still
strangely satisfying album.
The Diversions Editors can be reached
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
drinking beers and vomiting up and
down Fraternity Court
The Diversions Editors can be
reached atartsdesk@unc.edu.
|
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Group's Inaugural Disc
'Blisters' Listeners' Ears
By Kathleen Hancock
Staff Writer
Unrequited love sucks. I used to
think that the only thing worse than
unrequited love was its pitiful debase
ment around everyone’s favorite holi
day, Valentine’s Day. I was wrong.
There is something that can make the
combination of chocolate-soaked
depression and Valentine’s Day even
worse; that
something is CD REVIEW
... smile's ok, T ANARUS, u
The Hope Ho P e
. , . r ... smileso.k.
Blister s inau
gural album. Jjf
Released by §
Carrboro’s
Mammoth Records, ...smile’sck is a cre
ation of Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of
the independent record label 4AD.
Mammoth Records has managed to put
forth many talented artists over the last
10 years - Squirrel Nut Zippers, Juliana
Hatfield andjoe Henry to name a few -
but The Hope Blister does not live up to
this precedent.
Consisting of eight covers,... smile’s
ok includes the selections Heidi Berry’s
“Only Human,” David Sylvian’s “Let
The Happiness In” and “Is Jesus Your
Pal?” by die Icelandic band Slow Blow.
With vocals provided by Louise
Rutkowski,... smile’s ok manages to take
plaintive wailing and minimalist instru
mental accompaniment to a whole new
level of annoyance.
, SPORTS SHORTISt
Today at CAROLINA
Softball vs. Minnesota
2:oopm at Finley Field
Wrestling vs. N.C. State
7:oopm at Carmichael Auditorium
WardegJ Students & Faculty Admitted I RILE m /II)!^
Thursday, February 18, 1999
As I listened to the first track,
“Dagger,” I was, at first, taken with the
breathy, delicate sound of Rutkowski’s
voice. I hung on her every word, wait
ing for that moment where she would let
it all out and release her obvious vocal
power into my speakers.
That moment never came. After this
realization in the first song, I came to an
even more painful conclusion: I would
have to listen to this for seven more
songs.
... smile’s ok is every man’s, as well as
many women’s, nightmare - over an
hour of solid whining set to shallow, hol
low music.
After recording the basic tracks in
only 12 days - go figure - Watts-Russell
brought in producer/engineer John
Fryer to mix and hone the album.
What a mistake. Fryer’s influence can
be heard throughout the album.
Apparently the man is quite fond of one
particular effect that a synthesizer can
produce: echo, echo, echo.
So, with Fryer doing his best to make
Rutkowski’s girlishly grating vocals
sound mechanical and repetitive, instru
ments that can barely be heard and the
general feeling of pretentiousness that
this album seems to exude, ... smile’s ok
did not do much to lift my spirits over
Valentine’s Day. That’s okay; I’ll take
Russell Stover’s creations over Ivo
Watts-Russell’s any day.
The Diversions Editors can be reached
atartsdesk@unc.edu.
7