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AlbumREVIEWS: ''Brace the Wave' by Lou Barlow
Always brutally honest, with little need for poetics and metaphors, American indie rock icon Lou Barlow is one musician whose recorded output always guarantees an unpretentious experience
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Always brutally honest, with little need for poetics and metaphors, American indie rock icon Lou Barlow is one musician whose recorded output always guarantees an unpretentious experience.
Really, even his persona ' the one underground music fans can identify through years of publicized profiles and interviews ' is one without any cool-rocker posturing.
Good and bad, it's all out there. From his days as the suffering-yet-crucial bassist for exceedingly loud rockers Dinosaur Jr (of which the original line-up, including Barlow, reunited in 2005 with slightly diminished tension), a lo-fidelity forefather in Sebadoh (also reunited; also filled with tension) and a surprise hit-maker in The Folk Implosion, Barlow has never played the personable rock star game.
In interviews and through his lyrics, the 49-year-old musician speaks candidly of his romantic relationships and, intra-band, strives with admirable honesty.
Like the last Barlow-related output, Sebadoh's 2013 reunion album Defend Yourself, his new record under his own name Brace the Wave (Joyful Noise) has a good amount of references about the dissolution of his 20-year marriage.
Unlike that last Sebadoh record, however, Wave is about the aftermath of such a parting. There's almost a peacefulness within these contemplations and the record's effectively minimal arrangements fit the reflective sentiments expressed.
The lyrics are almost meditative without ever being guarded or pensive and the shift between the crunchy and in-your-living-room production lends a surprising dynamic to what is certainly one of the best Barlow releases of recent years.
In most of these songs, Barlow's main instruments are either an acoustic (it's unclear whether it's tuned to the same five-string tuning of his Sebadoh days), or a ukulele. But those unfamiliar with Barlow's repertoire would be wrong in picturing the typical pensiveness of the generic singer-songwriter record.
The songs rarely go for the whisper, sliding down with sad malaise; instead they hop out with instantaneous vigor. Not only do all nine tracks contain immediate melodies, but they are peppered with section-personifying instrumentations: the crunchy-guitar-and-synth duel during the coda of 'Boundaries', the soft keyboards during the middle of 'Nerve'.
That's not to say there isn't room for traditional musings through a simple guitar-and-vocals setup. 'Redeemed' sets its galloping rhythms against Barlow's increasingly-emotional yelps of 'Memories are made of razor blades' and pulsating banjo playing.
While the finger-plucked reflection of 'Repeat' sees the musician musing about facing life's challenges together with loved ones. Lyrics such as 'No, I don't mind if things get rough/But I wonder if you're strong enough/To bend with me', puts realistic relationship challenges on the table with no romanticizing.
Similarly, the hushed, plucked strings of 'C&E' speaks of 'Half of my life/Waiting for her ['¦] Pushed me away/Thought I would stay/But I cracked ['¦] No more denying' documents the last days of a relationship with a crystal retrospective quality.
Wave goes straight to the point, with lyrics that proclaim 'I miss you/Want you here/In my arms/In my hair/To hold your neck and watch you brace the wave'.
The strummed ukulele almost sounds joyful and triumphant in seemingly celebrating the contentment of a new-enough-but-established-enough relationship. That is, until the declarative chorus of 'I'll leave you alone/But don't go,' which rides the emotional complexity of Barlow's songwriting.
Brace the Wave is a record in which honesty ' in both arrangement and presentation ' feels like a treasured rarity these days. Barlow's penchant for the alarmingly direct and ongoing self-reflection is a feat in and of itself ' that it's enclosed within such catchy songs is more than a plus, making 'Brace the Wave' a record to own.
