Indie rockers Sebadoh return to New Zealand for the first time in nearly two decades this month, ending their trip with a two-night stand at Port Chalmers' Chick's Hotel.
Formed by Dinosaur Jr. bass player Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney in 1986, Sebadoh (a nonsense word Barlow used to mutter during recording sessions) alongside bands like Pavement were independent pioneers, releasing low-fidelity home recordings with DIY hand-drawn artwork. Also much like Pavement and many other American independent acts, Barlow was influenced by the work of Dunedin's Chills and the Clean, bands he remains interested in.
''[I'm a fan] of the rainy, jangly, experimental sound,'' Barlow tells me from his home.
''I grew up with a multitude of college radio stations on the dial ... so I was exposed to independent music from all over from my teenage years. New Zealand music was a huge deal in Boston [among my small group of friends] in the early '90s. I do know that Dunedin is very different than the rest of NZ, edgier.''
Sebadoh was releasing a run of classic and canonical studio recordings throughout the '90s (1991's Sebadoh III, and the more accessible Bakesale in 1994 in particular), but following The Sebadoh in 1999, the band entered a 14-year recording hiatus while occasionally touring.
After the Broken by the Secret EP in 2012, late last year the band returned with the full-length Defend Yourself. Barlow is not exactly a stranger to reunions (he rejoined Dinosaur Jr. in 2005, following his famous late-'80s dismissal), but the band is quick to point out the album is more of an organic reformation as opposed to a ''comeback album''. Defend Yourself debuted at No 1 in the US on the New Alternative Artists Billboard chart.
Historically speaking, Sebadoh albums have paralleled momentous experiences in Barlow's life, and this recording is no different. Defend Yourself is saturated with songs of heartache relating to the divorce from his wife and partner of 25 years.
Barlow has always appeared as someone who is reflexively observational and emotionally aware of himself, but as his career progresses, he appears even more in tune with doing what's right for him and not making apologies, even given the very personal subject matter.
''If I'm not direct and honest, at least to myself, I have a very hard time remembering the lyrics,'' Barlow tells me.
''If I'm trying to be clever or obscure I lose the logic of what I'm writing and cannot do the songs live. Events in my life recently inspired a clarity and directness in my writing that seemed particularly Sebadoh-like.''
Unfortunately at times, this ''Sebadoh-like'' lyrical element coupled with a vocal delivery that does not involve many theatrics often incorrectly leaves Barlow tagged as a ''sad guy'' wallowing in his misery.
''I think my music is positive,'' Barlow says.
''Wallowing is the last thing I do. I honestly feel like my songs, even at their darkest, are struggling against resignation. but I don't expect anyone to get that. I generally think that is my own failure, if I was better, people would get it.''
Musically, Defend Yourself is also very ''Sebadoh-like'', sticking pretty closely to what Barlow and bandmates - longtime partner (and underrated contributor) Jason Loewenstein and Bob D'Amico, who came on board in 2012 - do best. Sebadoh is still an unpretentious, relatively straightforward, emotional and nervous guitar band, a statement which could be construed by some as a diss, but certainly is not.
The last time Sebadoh visited Dunedin, 19 years ago, it was in support of Bakesale, the band's most widely known album and a career-high watermark. That album turns 20 in August and with ''classic album in full'' tours oh-so-common for re-formed indie bands these days, I ask Barlow about the chance of seeing ''Sebadoh performing Bakesale'' tickets on sale later this year.
''No. We did [1993's] Bubble and Scrape once in London. It was great, but people do that because they are paid extremely well to do so. Sebadoh has only received one such offer and will probably never be asked again.''
What about another full-length, then? Should we start holding out for another 14 years? ''Who knows,'' Barlow says.
''If we lived in the same city I'd say 'YES! Soon!', but I'm a continent away from Bob and Jason and times are tight.''
Sebadoh plays Chick's Hotel next Sunday with Bad Sav and Monday with David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights.
Be there
Sebadoh New Zealand Tour, Sunday, March 30, with Bad Sav and Monday, March 31, with David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, Chick's Hotel, Port Chalmers, 9pm. Tickets $55 from undertheradar.co.nz and Cosmic Dunedin.
