Lou Barlow: Mirror the Eye

The task of entering the Lou Barlow catalog over 20 years since it began seems as daunting and perilous as an assault on K2, with several levels of altitude acclimatization to endure including Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Sentridoh, the Folk Implosion, and of course those recordings filed under his proper name. Apart from some fantastically choice, tinny home recordings once wedged onto a mix tape made by a college crush, and despite living and working in the epicenter of all things Barlow in western Massachusetts, I’ve remained fairly ignorant. I mean, I saw Kids, but I only just bought the reissue of Sebadoh’s III, to give you some idea of how naked I am before this here Mirror the Eye EP. So I try to suit up as best as I can, strap on the crampons and begin to climb. But I fear that the five songs credited here to “lou barlow as Sentridoh” aren’t perhaps the best base camp for a guy like me. This is not a sampler designed to make me salivate for treats to come, but a sweet gesture for the already fan. I have not yet climbed so high as to appreciate the view. But Spain’s Acuarela Discos imprint, whom I know primarily for putting out the Decemberists’ The Tain, delights in these sorts of one-off projects for artists it admires, so I’m sure its staff could instantly feel the genius in indie rock scree “Faith Defies the Night” and “You’re a Goat” that elude me down here at sea level.