Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited[1] with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His first band, which was formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, was Deep Wound.
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow
July 17, 1966
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Musician, songwriter
Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, drums, ukulele
1982–present
Joyful Noise Recordings, Shrimper, Smells Like, Mint, Sub Pop, Lo-Fi, Little Brother, Dark Beloved Cloud, City Slang, Merge, Acuarela, Domino
Barlow has released four solo albums.
Early life[edit]
Barlow was born in Dayton, Ohio, and raised in Jackson, Michigan, and Westfield, Massachusetts.
Solo work[edit]
Barlow released the first album under his own name, Emoh, in January 2005 on Merge Records. It featured long-time collaborators such as Sebadoh members Jason Loewenstein and Russ Pollard and Lou's sister Abby Barlow, and featured a higher production value than many of his previous solo releases. Jason Crock of Pitchfork called it "the most consistently strong record he's released since The Folk Implosion's One Part Lullaby" and wrote that "even if much of it was recorded at home, Emoh's 14 unassuming folk songs sound like they were created in a professional setting."[8] In November 2005, Barlow toured the Iberian Peninsula to promote the album.
Barlow released his second solo album, Goodnight Unknown, in October 2009 on Merge. It was produced by Andrew Murdock and featured numerous guest musicians, including Imaad Wasif on guitar and Dale Crover of the Melvins and Murph on drums. Barlow toured the album in the U.S. in the fall of 2009, opening for Dinosaur Jr. and backed by The Missingmen of Mike Watt + the Missingmen.
Barlow's third solo album, Brace the Wave, was released on September 4, 2015, on Joyful Noise Recordings. It was recorded in six days with Justin Pizzoferrato, who also worked as a sound engineer for Dinosaur Jr. at Sonelab Studios in Massachusetts. The tracks from Brace the Wave feature Barlow's ukulele playing. Barlow also took 100 original Polaroid selfies to accompany the VIP vinyl edition of the album.[9][10]
On October 28, 2016, Barlow released a 5 track EP entitled Apocalypse Fetish on Joyful Noise Recordings
In April 2021, it was announced that a solo album entitled Reason to Live would be released on May 28 via Joyful Noise.[11]