You could suggest that after nearly forty years in the music industry that Lou Barlow has finally found himself in a position where he has various different directions in which to flex his musical muscles; Dinosaur Jr for his bass playing chops and meatier songwriting, Sebadoh for the more esoteric ideas and interplay with Jason Loewenstein, and his solo work for the more personal and intimate songs.
I was surprised to discover how many solo records he has actually made over the years, and there is something about this one which captures the essence of somebody in a comfortable place in life but still questioning where necessary. Mainly recorded with acoustic instrumentation, there is more reliance on the gentle interplay of instruments and on Lou’s thoughtful and observant lyrics. His voice has become a rather lovely and at times plaintive instrument, and in tandem with the folk-inflected, at times charmingly shambling songs, Reason To Live is an album of great merit.
There is a scuffed, home-recorded feel to opener “In My Arms”, and it is a simple ode to love that puts the lie to a lot of what the public thinks they know of Lou. It is slightly out of tune and a bit ramshackle, but you can’t help but be drawn into this gentle song of love. There is a lot of space in the songs here, with no reliance of overblown melodrama, and they insinuate rather than beat you over the head. It isn’t all mushy romance though, and “Reason To Live” is incredibly catchy, but the line “Hunger makes you cruel” hints that not everything is a bed of roses. Some of the tracks move at quite a pace, “Love Intervene” being particularly jaunty, with the acoustic guitar rushing the song along as Lou opines, “Tide after tide changes the meaning of life”. The move between emotions keeps the listener engaged, and the epic, swooping positivity of “Privatize” is a joy. There is a unique feel to his scuffed, folky picking and I love the line “She’s got her lies, I’ve got mine” on the plaintive “I Don’t Like Changes”.The songs are generally pretty short on Reason To Live and seventeen are squeezed onto the disc, but really there is no drop in quality. “Over You” is fluffy but ravaged with angry strumming, while there is a touch of Sentridoh in the guitar-could-do-with-a-restring lo-fi vibe of “How Do I Know”. Warm chords enliven the folky stroll of “Maumee”, while there is an urgent, almost overbearing, intensity to the disturbing “Thirsty”.
Towards the end, the hilarious and mildly vicious “All You People Suck” has its vitriol washed away in the ecstatic interplay of final track “Act Of Faith”, and here the emotional and varied journey comes to an end. Lou is a serious songwriting machine, but it never descends into writing for the sake of it. There is always a tale to tell and a point to be made, and Reason To Live is one satisfying collection.-Mr Olivetti-
