Lou Barlow

Since the 1980s Lou Barlow has ranked among independent music’s most singular, far-reaching, and tireless presences. He contributed to Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, and the Folk Implosion while also maintaining a solo path, the consistent thread being his talent for concise, lasting melodies and his readiness to reveal private doubts. Within Dinosaur Jr. he served as bassist; at the helm of Sebadoh he helped ignite the lo-fi movement; and through the Folk Implosion he reached the pop Top 40 with the 1995 single “Natural One.” Although his official solo discography began only in the 2000s, Emoh (2005) and Brace the Wave (2015) confirm that his approach and abilities remain undiminished.

Born in Dayton, Ohio, on July 17, 1966, Lou Barlow grew up chiefly in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he formed the hardcore band Deep Wound with fellow high-school outsider J Mascis. After Deep Wound ended in 1983, the pair reconvened in Dinosaur (soon renamed Dinosaur Jr.), one of the decade’s most esteemed indie acts. Mounting friction between Mascis and Barlow, who rarely spoke, led to Barlow’s departure following the 1988 album Bug. He then devoted himself to Sebadoh, a side project already underway with multi-instrumentalist Eric Gaffney. While Dinosaur Jr. was celebrated for its massive guitar sound, Sebadoh began as a stripped-down, intentionally low-fidelity home-recording venture centered on Barlow’s reflective, emotionally direct songs and Gaffney’s noise collages. Across numerous singles and the expansive albums The Freed Man (1989), Weed Forestin (1990), and Sebadoh III (1991), Sebadoh—now including drummer/songwriter Jason Loewenstein—grew more intricate and moved away from its raw beginnings, yet stayed resolutely noncommercial.

Partly in reaction to Sebadoh’s expanding scope, Barlow launched the ongoing side project Sentridoh and issued the cassette Losers in 1991. Functioning essentially as a solo outlet, Sentridoh gave the extraordinarily prolific artist latitude to pursue shambling acoustic folk-pop alongside any other notions that arose. Additional releases followed, most on cassette, though highlights appeared on the CD compilations Winning Losers: A Collection of Home Recordings (1994), The Original Losing Losers, and Lou Barlow and His Sentridoh, the last containing the love song “Forever Instant.” Another Collection of Home Recordings, credited to Lou Barlow & Friends and featuring Bob Fay (Gaffney’s replacement in Sebadoh), arrived in 1995.

Also in 1994 Barlow joined singer/songwriter John Davis in the Folk Implosion, a further home-recording vehicle that incorporated stylistic detours into blue-eyed funk, Lennon-esque pop, and noise abrasion. After several EPs and singles, the Folk Implosion supplied music for Larry Clark’s 1995 film Kids; the soundtrack’s “Natural One” became an unexpected Top 40 hit later that year, raising Barlow’s profile still higher. Following Sebadoh’s well-received 1996 album Harmacy, he recorded the Folk Implosion’s Dare to Be Surprised, released in spring 1997. Two further Folk Implosion albums, One Part Lullaby (1999) and The New Folk Implosion (2003), preceded the group’s breakup announcement, while Sebadoh had disbanded months after issuing The Sebadoh in 1999.

Barlow launched a solo career with Emoh (2005) and Goodnight Unknown (2009) while also rejoining Dinosaur Jr. for the original lineup’s unexpected return and the 2007 album Beyond. Sebadoh likewise regrouped in 2007 for live dates and later recorded the 2012 EP Secret and the 2013 album Defend Yourself. Despite a crowded calendar, Barlow completed another solo album, Brace the Wave, in 2015. In 2016 he appeared on the Elliott Smith tribute Say Yes!, played bass on Dumb Numbers’ second album, collaborated with Dinosaur Jr. on Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, and released the acoustic EP Apocalypse Fetish. Sebadoh reconvened for Act Surprised in 2019, and Dinosaur Jr. returned to the studio for Sweep It Into Space (2021), yet Barlow still found room for his own work, issuing Reason to Live on Joyful Noise in May 2021.