Coming off the heels of last year’s highly improbable reunion of the original members of Dinosaur Jr. (which appears to be sticking, if this fall’s follow up tour is any indication,) the spring reunion of the seminal early lineup of Sebadoh (Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney and Jason Loewenstein) suffered for impact — after all, Loewenstein had never brained Barlow with the back of a guitar, as Dinosaur Jr. frontman J. Mascis once had. Still, there were plenty of wounds to heal when Sebadoh disbanded after the band’s self-titled 2002 album. As Barlow notes in an email Q&A I conducted with him at the beginning of the spring ‘07 Sebadoh tour, the Sebadoh reunion healed its own share of wounds.

Sebadoh - “The Freed Pig” mp3

The ostensible reason for the reunion was the re-release of the trio’s essential indie-folk album III, but was born out of years of tense conversations and negotiations with the estranged Barlow and Gaffney. Barlow explains, “Eric and I started e-mailing each other 4 years ago, debating reissue plans, threatening each other with legal action, etc…eventually we compromised and the III reissue happened.” Despite the contentious tone of Barlow and Gaffney’s exchanges, the nascent Dinosaur Jr. reunion that was in the works gave Barlow some hope for a similar reconciliation. Barlow notes that while reissues plans were being worked out between the former Sebadow members, “…J. (Mascis)’s manager was pursuing a Dinosaur Jr. reunion. I was definitely influenced by the success of that, more in a personal way than anything financially motivated.” Barlow adds, “it’s been important to me to revisit the formative relationships and put some negativity to rest.”

There has been no word since the spring Sebadoh dates wrapped up whether the band will reunite in a permanent manner. The spring dates found the band leaning heavily on the band’s deep catalog, with Gaffney joining in on songs from the Barlow-Loewenstein years, and the trio mixing in some of their solo material as well, but with no indication that there were more collaborations or new Sebadoh material to come. In our exchange, Barlow acknowledged that “it would be relatively easy for us to record again,” with the caveat “it’s more a matter of Jason and I finding time away from our other bands.” (Loewenstein performs in the Fiery Furnaces’ touring band, and Barlow emphasizes that his commitment to the reformed Dinosaur Jr. is his top priority.)

Sebadoh - “Sickles and Hammers” mp3

Despite two successful reunions in a year and a legitimate comeback for what seemed a stalling career, Barlow doesn’t treat it as a victory lap — in fact, he openly doubts the influence Sebadoh has had on contemporary indie music. It’s hard to decide if this is self-deprecating or disingenuous — the band pioneered the DIY bedroom-recording aesthetic that become the indie norm in the age of Garage Band. Barlow’s mixture of bare emotionalism and rough-hewn pop smarts form a basic blueprint for half of Sub Pop’s current roster, and arbiters of indie scripture Pitchfork issued the III reissue a glowing review, acknowledging the album’s profound influence on contemporary indie folk. Still, Barlow downplays the band’s impact.

Sebadoh - “Hassle” mp3

“I don’t know how much influence we’ve had,” he says. “I can see how we’ve empowered some people to write and record, but I don’t hear much that sounds like us if only because we didn’t have a ‘sound’, we were too distracted or restless to really embrace a direction.” True — a listen to III illustrates how homogenized and predictable the indie aesthetic has become. Sebadoh’s charm came in the tension between three very distinct creative visions — Barlow’s bare emotionalism, Loewenstein’s Jolt-cola-fueled post-punk outbursts, and Gaffney’s eccentric folk and experimental leanings. While the three extremes never sat comfortably among one another on any of the band’s early output, each vision has provided an immeasurable amount of fuel to less “distracted” (and less interesting) bands that have picked up the torch.

But in an age when bands have cashed in on those disparate elements and the DIY spirit has become an effective marketing angle, Barlow remains prosaic, having no doubt that the true underground of bedroom eccentrics will never abandon the scattered charm those early Sebadoh recordings embodied. He notes that the technology of the past decade has only been a boon to those bedroom enthusiasts. “Business will never destroy the music underground and I do think breaking out of the bedroom is a little easier these days,” Barlow notes. “The net makes it much easier to connect with people — if a band is good it will find an audience.”

Sebadoh website | Buy Sebadoh on Insound | Allmusic entry