Sebadoh – Harmacy (30th Anniversary) (CD)

Harmacy (30th Anniversary Expanded Edition) finally makes Sebadohs seminal 1996 indie-rock album available again, and adds 16 bonus tracks, including alternate versions, rare B-sides, BBC sessions, and live material from the Harmacy era.

Sebadoh was formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr., The Folk Implosion), with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989, and Bob Fay taking Gaffneys spot in 1994. By 1994, the band had released five albums and more or less changed the pockmarked face of indie rock. Their albums were mostly home recordings, decried for their lack of sharp production, but embraced by fans of Barlow’s intimate songwriting style, which owed as much to Joni Mitchell as Bob Mould.

In 1996 Harmacy, their breakout sixth album, arrived, finding Sebadoh as conflicted as ever: torn between screaming punk and gentle crooning, replete with highly personal songs guaranteed to bring down even the most super-charged midnight ravers.

Released in the wake of The Folk Implosions Top 40 hit “Natural One,” Harmacy became Sebadoh’s first charting album in the U.S. and yielded the hit “Ocean.” Interview said, Harmacy is nothing short of a masterpiece. The New Yorker called it a collection of perfectly crafted, honest (read: ambiguous and emotionally twisted), impassioned songs about love and hate. Harmacy was hailed as one of the best albums of 1996 by Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, and NME.

TRACKLIST1. On Fire2. Prince-S3. Ocean4. Nothing Like You5. Crystal Gypsy6. Beauty of the Ride7. Mind Reader8. Sforzando!9. Willing to Wait10. Hillbilly II11. Zone Doubt12. Too Pure13. Worst Thing14. Love to Fight15. Perfect Way16. Can’t Give Up16. Open Ended18. Weed Against Speed19. I Smell a Rat20. Willing to Wait (Alternate Version)21. Worst Thing (Alternate Version)22. Beauty of the Ride (Alternate Version)23. Too Pure (Alternate Version)24. Real Deal (Studio B-Side)25. Real Deal (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)26. Its Gonna Be Loud (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)27. I Feel O.K. (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)28. Open Ended (Acoustic Demo)29. Crest (BBC Live Version, John Peel)30. Willing to Wait (Live)31. Psyched to Die (Live)32. Mind Reader (Live)33. Cant Give Up (Live)34. Worst Thing (Live)35. Love to Fight (Live)