As much a collective of musicians as a band, Sebadoh was the quintessential lo-fi band of the '90s. Formed by singer/songwriter Lou Barlow while he was the bassist for Dinosaur Jr. in the late '80s, Sebadoh's music was a virtual catalog of '80s alternative rock and '90s indie rock, featuring everything from jangle pop to noise rock experimentalism. Upon being kicked out of Dinosaur in 1989, Barlow turned his attention toward Sebadoh, a home-recording project that he and drummer/songwriter Eric Gaffney began in 1987. Sebadoh soon developed into a backing band for both Barlow and Gaffney, as each submitted home-recorded tapes for release and toured behind the albums. Eventually adding drummer/songwriter Jason Loewenstein, the trio became an indie rock sensation, as well-known for the size and inconsistency of its output as the music itself. Often, Sebadoh sounded schizophrenic, flipping between Barlow's sensitive folk-rock and Gaffney's noise experiments without warning. This very diversity became the band's calling card, and by 1992 the band had earned a devoted following. As the media focused on Barlow -- who also released a number of solo records under the name Sentridoh -- Gaffney grew frustrated. Gaffney left in 1994, and with new drummer Bob Fay, Sebadoh produced its most accessible albums -- Bakesale and Harmacy -- which expanded its cult somewhat. Despite the group's flirtation with (relatively) polished production and the fluke success of Barlow's side project Folk Implosion, Sebadoh remained a cult band and became one the largest touchstones of '90s indie rock.

Sub Pop is re-issuing Bakesale in March, followed by a re-issue of Harmacy!

Indie long-timer Lou Barlow is best known as the bassist for fuzz-rock legends Dinosaur Jr. and the frontman for Sebadoh, but he's also been known to release solo records, both under his own name and as Sentridoh. Lately, Barlow has been touring with the missingmen (Tom Watson on guitar and Raul Morales on drums), who previously backed Mike Watt. Today, Merge released = Sentridoh III (as in "Lou Barlow + the missingmen = Sentridoh III), an EP that Barlow recorded with the missingmen.

According to the band, the new EP works as "an almost live representation of the Lou Barlow & the missingmen live show". It includes new songs, new versions of tracks from Barlow's solo albums Emoh and Goodnight Unknown, a new version of Sentridoh's "Losercore", and a cover of Skip James' "I'm So Glad". Below, you can download the = Sentridoh III version of "Losercore".

Barlow and the missingmen will spend their summer touring, playing a string of shows with Baltimore slowcore duo Wye Oak. We've got all their dates, as well as the = Sentridoh III tracklist, below.

- Circle Of Buzzards is a two-piece band featuring Bob D'Amico on drums and Jason Loewenstein on bass. Their mission is to bring the listener to a direct understanding of silence, by illustrating its opposite. They have collectively played music with Sebadoh, Fiery Furnaces, Lou Reed, Robyn Hitchcock, Will Oldham, David Kilgour, and Richard Buckner.