Jason Loewenstein - At Sixes and Sevens
(Subpop)
While I didn't care enough about Sebadoh at the end of their "career" to ever even hear their last record, I was pretty excited when I heard that Jason Loewenstein was coming out with a solo record. I thought the songs on his first solo release, a 7" under the name Sparkalepsy (the songs were later re-recorded on Sebadoh's Harmacy record) were really fun and interesting, and while Lou Barlow was always the one in the spotlight, I always thought that Loewenstein had more—or at least as much—talent as Barlow did based on the fact that not only were his Sebadoh contributions great songs, but they had a lot more variety to them than Barlow's.
In fact, back in Sebadoh's heyday, no one even seemed to really care which songs were written by which members, it was just generally assumed that the best songs were Barlow's... hell, I even remember 2 Magnet reviews and an article where they praise Barlow for songs that Loewenstein wrote, and criticize Loewenstein for not having a wide enough breadth of talent or musicianship.
And, I am happy to say that At Sixes and Sevens doesn't disappoint. It is classic Jason Loewenstein song writing. And, although it doesn't have any songs as pretty and lovelorn as some of his Lou-esque Sebadoh contributions, the album showcases his talent for switching between angular, aggressive, and chaotic songs like "Crazy Santana," to the downbeat and at least comparatively mellow "Mistake." Any fan of Sebadoh's Bakesale, Harmacy, or the more crazy songs on Bubble and Scrape—or for that case, any fan of fun, vibrant and interesting indie rock—should buy this record. You won't regret it.
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