Suggested Listening: Lou Barlow’s Goodnight Unkown

I’ve been a Lou Barlow fan for as long as I can remember.  Ever since my pal Chris handed me a dubbed cassette with Sebadoh’s Bakesale on the A side.  After wearing that down I picked up the actual CD and rode that baby into the sunset.  That album led me to the Kids soundtrack and Folk Implosion which led to a few more Sebadoh albums which led to a solo demo album (thank you Soundgarden!)  Loved every second of them.  Why?  Barlow can flat out write a good song no matter what instrument, studio, producer he has available to him.  He could put together a song with him singing and beatboxing and I’m sure it would kill.  So it probably comes to no surprise that I thoroughly enjoy his newest effort Goodnight Unknown which comes out on October 6th via Merge.  On this record he goes from soft spoken acoustic arrangements to high energy rock to experimental pop.  Even though there’s those dramatic stylistic shifts, the album flows extremely well.  Barlow describes it as “a cross between my later work with Folk Implosion and my earlier work with Sebadoh…to my ears anyway.”  To mine as well.  Lou Barlow hits the road this fall and swings into DC to the 9:30 Club on October 8th.  Check the rest of the dates after the jump and these choice tracks right now:

mp3: Lou Barlow – Gravitate

mp3: Lou Barlow – Sharing

09-30 Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
10-01 Montreal, QUE – Pop Montreal Festival
10-02 Cambridge, MA – Middle East
10-03 Cambridge, MA – Middle East
10-04 Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights
10-07 New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
10-08-09 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
10-09 Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of the Living Arts
10-10 Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
10-11 Pontiac, MI – The Crofoot
10-13 Madison, WI – The Majestic Theatre
10-14 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
10-15 Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
10-16 Louisville, KY – Headliner’s Music Hall
10-17 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
10-26 Kansas City, MO – The Beaumont Club
10-27 Omaha, NE – Slowdown
10-29 Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
10-30 Fort Collins, CO – Aggie Theatre
11-03 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre
11-04 Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
11-06 San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
11-07 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

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