Snobbin: Beautiful Trash in the Pop Culture Gutter

1. Sebadoh - Secret Sebadoh never rests on their laurels. The kings of indie rock have created another album of astonishing depth in just the span of five songs. "Keep the Boy Alive" is a Lou Barlow paen to growing old and retaining one's love. "My Drugs" is a Loewenstein rocker about needing drugs: the line "can't hang with sober people they scare the shit right out of me" says it all. "Arbitrary High" recalls "Skull," sounding like a Bakesale outtake. "I Don't Mind" is a country weeper that might have found a nice place on the new Dinosaur Jr. record, yet easily trumps anything on that underwhelming platter. Loewenstein remains the hidden secret in Sebadoh, writing understated songs that often overshadow Barlow's more obvious offerings. Barlow's "All Kinds" is a short, sweet coda to a great, but all to short EP. I'm looking forward to a new full-length.  http://sebadoh.bandcamp.com/album/s...

Let's Wrestle - Nursing Home  Pure fun is the perfect way to describe Let's Wrestle's new album, "Nursing Home." At first glance, the faults are apparent. Perhaps, it is a little too silly, a little too sloppy, and a little too schlocky brimming over with silliness and inside jokes, the kind that all the nerds in the room can relate to. Yet it is these qualities that endearingly make it a great album. Like their fellow travelers on the jokey, but smart indie highway, Boat, Let's Wrestle knows how to have fun with a clever turn of phrase. An earlier song, "Music is My Girlfriend" took a tired cliche and made it seem new again. In a nutshell, this technique is the genius of the band. While "Nursing Home" never reaches the same heights, it is a fine attempt. The band is a little tighter, the jokes are more coherent, and the production values a hair better. While not attempting anything as virtuosic as the new Boat album, Let's Wrestl...