LOU BARLOW 'MIRROR THE EYE E.P.'

(Acuareladiscos, 2007)

01 yawning blue messiah
02 faith defies the night
03 you're a goat
04 my surrender
05 mirror the eye

"Somewhere amid all the reuniting he's been doing lately with Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, the ever-prolific Lou Barlow found the time to craft this five-song EP. Two words on the inside flap give a clue as to when exactly Barlow penned these tunes: "prerevival" and "postemoh" (EMOH being the name of Barlow's 2005 solo CD). So maybe it's not surprising that Mirror the Eye doesn't stray far from the bedroom bong-inspired philosophizing Barlow has been known for since Sebadoh's early records.

The "prerevival" animosity toward J. Mascis is still prevalent on opener "Yawning Blue Messiah." Over haunting, simple guitar chords, Barlow sings, "Thought of you once again/ I miss you, brother/ But I hate your guts/ What was it inside you that/ Made me regret what was?" Things get goofy on "Faith Defies the Night" and "You're a Goat," almost as if Barlow is aiming for Tenacious D-style mock-rock. On the former he claims he's "out spending a Sunday in a dungeon." And the latter goes full-bore with the title's imagery: "You've got splayed feet/ Cloven hooves/ I heard you brayin'/ What were you sayin'?"

The short set ends lighter, brighter, and better. "My Surrender," even with its air of resignation, seems joyous, based on galloping acoustic-guitar chords with occasional nice electric work on top. And the very-short, closing title track abruptly ends with the non-sequitur "don't make rules to break them." Good ol' Lou: Still too high to worry about plebian matters like logic and sense."

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