Lou Barlow Emoh

So it's finally happened. After a string of bizarre and occasionally ridiculous monikers, Lou Barlow has finally plucked up the courage to put a record out under his given name. This suggests progress, and while the ludicrously titled Emoh - not an ode to Sunny Day Real Estate and their ilk, it's simply "home" spelled backwards - might sound about as tantalising as a five hour therapy session with the man who birthed it, it is undoubtedly Barlow's best work of the decade.

But I know what you're thinking - "Barlow's best work of the decade?" I mean, forget the last five years - what has Lou Barlow actually been doing since The Folk Implosion released Dare To Be Surprised in 1997? For those who have forgotten, here's a quick reminder: The Sebadoh (the sound of a great band gone stale); One Part Lullaby (a patchy, Barlow-dominated retread of former ideas); The New Folk Implosion (yawn); Free Sentridoh: Tales from Loobiecore (what the hell was that all about?) I believe this is what's known in the business as a bad run.

To judge Emoh without considering the failings of its predecessors is a tricky task indeed. After six years of uninspired dross, it's hardly surprising that it feels like a glorious success. But would this be the case if Barlow had released it in 1999? Somehow, I think not. The simple reason being that while none of Emoh's fourteen songs are less than adequate, only four are genuinely memorable. And of these, only one, the almost title track Home, truly matches up to Barlow career highlights such as Soul and Fire, Rebound, Natural One, and Ocean. (For those who are interested, the other highlights are Holding Back The Year, Caterpillar Girl and a fascinating reworking of Ratt's Round N Round.) And by anyone's standards, four out of fourteen is a pretty mediocre success rate.

I'd love to cut the man some slack, I really would, but there's really very little to get excited about here. Yes, there's considerably less tape hiss than on your average Lou Barlow solo album but does that really mean you should stump up £10 of your hard-earned cash? I'll let you decide that one.

Ultimately, while Emoh may well be a step forward for Lou Barlow, it's going to take something far bolder if he's to expand upon the legacy he created with Sebadoh (and to a lesser extent The Folk Implosion) and genuinely establish himself as a solo artist. For the time being, those in search of classic Barlow would do far better to dig out their battered old copies of Bakesale.