February 25, 2005 - The first music of Lou Barlow's I heard was on the soundtrack to Larry Clark's Kids, and I loved it. Of course, I was in the throes of indie-rock ecstasy at the time, and the prospect of combining folk tunesmithing and some really randy hip-hop beats sounded like the perfect combination to me (and to be honest, it still does). But before long, I was hip deep in his various CDs, both as part of Folk Implosion and as a solo artist; while performing a successful cover of a Serge Gainsbourg song (as he did on One Part Lullabye) will earn my sympathies for any artist, it was his low-fi remake of Bryan Adams "Run To You" that continues to convince me of his genius.

After disbanding or simply discontinuing his myriad side projects, Barlow returns in 2005 (five years since his last solo record) with a new album of material, titled Emoh. Rather than attempting to rock out Dashboard Confessional style, however, Barlow plugs in his typically low key style and hits a mark somewhere between the freak-folk of his Implosion days and even earlier glories; what that means is a stripped-down but compelling album, bolstered only by spare percussion (usually of the electronic variety), some multi-part harmonies (he's evidently evolved past that old school four-track he used to use) and some electronic flotsam designed to thicken up the overall sound.

Listening to the first track, "Holding Back the Year," I wondered if Barlow wasn't making an early bid for best record of 2005; the steam-engine chug of "Home" almost lives up to its predecessor's promise, but Barlow front-loads the disc with winners and then wisely eases off of the gas (their majesty almost requires a track three respite) with "Caterpillar Girl." "Legendary" is a ballad borrowed straight from the days of Another Collection of Home Recordings, but damn if its sincerity doesn't outshine every last one of rock's would-be singer-songwriter geniuses (let an expert show you how it's done, Carrabas).

Among the remaining ten tracks, there are so many gems that it's tough to distinguish one from another; but then again, that's an enviable problem to have these days (though "Royalty"'s military cadence just about breaks and bursts your heart at the same time). In a market flooded with mediocre sameness, Emoh is the antidote, or if nothing else, a much-needed answer to the question where the hell real writing and recording went. Let's just hope it doesn't stay way quite so long next time.

Definitely Download:
1. "Holding Back the Year"
2. "Legendary"

Overall Score 8.0