Lou BarlowGoodnight Unknown
Merge Records [2009]
Fire Note Says: Solid singer, songwriter and career!
Album Review:
Regardless if it is Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Folk Implosion or his solo work, indie troubadour Lou Barlow has one of those voices that is instantly recognizable, timeless and extremely likable. This always makes his records an easy listen and on his new solo outing Goodnight Unknown the same positive characteristics can all be found. Interesting enough, it is only the second disc under his real name and now with such a storied past you might wonder what the 43 year old, married, and soon-to-be father of two has to contribute? Well on his last release EMOH [2005], Barlow recorded most of it alone and found himself handling just about every track acoustically, which fits Barlow nicely but was completely safe. Goodnight Unknown separates itself, as it has more song structure diversity and musically adds a stellar cast, with the inclusion of Lisa Germano, bassist Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing) and Dinosaur Jr.'s drummer Murph. It really seams that there are glimmers of all of Barlow's bands throughout the record, which rightfully so, is the essence that he is made up of. This is what fans want from his solo work and this is what you get from Goodnight Unknown, which is solid from beginning to end!
Key Tracks: "Sharing", "One Machine, One Long Fight", "Don't Apologize"
Bands With Similar Fire:
Iron & Wine
Robert Pollard
Elliott Smith
Official Lou Barlow Website
Lou Barlow MySpace
Lou Barlow Info [Allmusic]
Merge Records
-Reviewed by Reece Michael
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