Sebadoh Album Recommendations: "Harmacy"

Album Recommendations: Harmacy

The old five-point scale has been retired in favor of just rating stuff 1-10, which allows me a much more nuanced final rating. Still don't take it that seriously. Most of these come from my own collection, so the grades skew rather high. Your results may vary if you send me stuff to review.

Each album is given three Essential tracks, my personal favorites, regardless of how weird and inconsequential they are. The Quintessential pick is the one I think best represents the album as a whole, so you can try one song instead of a whole album of songs. Non-Essential picks range from merely disappointing to outright unlistenable.

Sebadoh

[#] Harmacy (1996)

Did this really need to be nineteen tracks long?

Reviewed March 18, 2024

Well, I can say this much: you know a Sebadoh song when you hear one. Part of the reason the band and especially Bakesale follow-up Harmacy has always been neglected in the indie rock canon is their tendency towards long-winded self-satisfying experimentation. Let's put it in plain terms: Harmacy's gravest sin is repeating itself. There'a a fine-to-great ten song bipolar indie rock record in the frustrating stew of its nineteen tracks. Lou Barlow brings some of his prettiest ballads, and Jason Loewenstein is always good for a weirdly-tuned thrash or a minor key mope. Even drummer Bob Fay's strange, perky instrumental contribution "Sforzando!" is a nice touch. The good in Harmacy is absolutely in there; it's just muddled in Sebadoh not knowing when to call it a day.

On the bright side, "On Fire" is perhaps the quintessential Sebadoh song, Lou's acoustic answer to hardcore's self-lacerating tendencies, and "Willing to Wait" is gorgeously soppy like only he's capable of. Jason provides a downer sequel to the optimistic new love of Bakesale's "Got It" with the loping "Nothing Like You", and his peppering the tracklist with the angular rage of songs like "Mind Reader" and "Zone Doubt" keeps the mood from getting too sedate. It's when Lou turns in "On Fire Part Two" with the even more self-absorbed "Too Pure" or when 55 entire seconds are devoted to thrash trash on "Love to Fight" that you start to consider Sebadoh their own worst, grossest enemies. Take Lou at his word on "Perfect Way": "Ankle deep in your personal concern/Love it or leave it, it's all the same".