Sebadoh is an
American indie rock band, currently signed with
Joyful Noise Recordings. Sebadoh were formed in 1988 in
Northampton,
Massachusetts, by
Eric Gaffney and
Dinosaur Jr bass player
Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as
Pavement and
Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer
lo-fi music, a style of
indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording techniques, often on four-track machines. The band's early output, such as 1990's
The Freed Man and
Weed Forestin' and 1991's
Sebadoh III, was typical of this style. After a 14-year recording hiatus, during which time members pursued other projects while occasionally touring as Sebadoh, the group returned in 2013 with the
Secret EP and a full-length album titled
Defend Yourself, which were both self-recorded. Lead singer
Lou Barlow says of the band's resurrected sound, "We kept to ourselves during the recording and didn’t have much, if any, outside intervention. That, to my mind, makes it a true Sebadoh record and aligns the style of
Defend Yourself with our early releases."
