Hear Sebadoh's First Release in 14 Years: Secret EP

With Lou Barlow gearing up for a new Dinosaur Jr. album called I Bet on Sky to be released September 18 via Jagjaguwar, I wasn't expecting any news from the Sebadoh camp. I hadn't really stopped listening to that excellent Bakesale reissue yet, then.. *Bam!* ...the first new material from the group in 14 years! I'm always wary when a band tries to recapture their magic after such a long hiatus, especially one hadn't put out anything since the 90's. Often they come back sounding like a shell of their former selves. Rest assured, Sebadoh is back in full lo-fi slacker-rock mode.

"Keep the Boy Alive" displays their knack for making the simplest songs sound like the biggest anthems and most important statements. It gallops along with solid drumming by Bob D'Amico accompanied by classic superfuzz guitars. It is one of three songs written by Lou Barlow; the others being the melancholic "Arbitrary High" and the roaring angular closer "All Kinds".

"My Drugs" written by Jason Loewenstein is the strongest song featured on this five track set. “Make the same mistakes over again/ I can’t break the chain, go around again,” he howls adding, "I can't live without my drugs." It is simple ode to drug addiction but one that is very much addicting itself. The other song penned by Loewenstein is "I Don't Mind", which sets itself apart from the others with an intoxicating twang.

Jason Loewenstein producered, engineered, and mixed the release doing a superb job of recapturing the group's initial charms. The whole project is a self-released DIY effort that was launched on their bandcamp. Coming in at just under 17 minutes with not a second wasted, you couldn't ask for a better teaser as to what the future holds for Sebadoh. Along with this EP, they also announced a new album will be out in early 2013 and confirmed that none of these songs would be featured on it.

Sebadoh will be performing at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA on Wednesday, August 8th.