Like Charlie Brown, some people's existential angst will never fully be cleansed. After nearly 20 years it's hard to believe Lou Barlow can't find something to be happy about, but much to relief of his fans, that is clearly not the case. This second edition of Loobiecore picks up where the first volume left off but with infinitely more polish to its production -- or at least as much polish as a Barlow record could possibly have. Easily his finest, most fully realized record since the glory years of Sebadoh, Emoh takes the songs of Sentridoh and rolls them up into the production values of Folk Implosion to create a sound rarely found in the Barlow catalog. And while the topics du jour haven't changed much since the early years, he still convincingly murmurs his lyrics; exorcising the spirits of Nick Drake with great conviction and sincerity, especially during his rousing cover of Ratt's "Round and Round" (continuing a tradition that started with his excellent cover of Bryan Adams' "Run to You"). Diehards will be swooning and cheering from the first song, "Holding Back the Years" (which has harmonies the Eagles would be proud of), to the album's closer, an amusing tale of a cat. For newer Barlow fans, it's an ideal place to start and discover the depths of his catalog because of its immediate accessibility and easy listening. It's a mature, accomplished statement for one of indie rock's most reliably miserable men.
© Rob Theakston /TiVo