Bubble and Scrape
Encyclopedia
Bubble and Scrape is the fourth album by American
indie rock
band, Sebadoh
. It was released by Sub Pop
in April 1993.
Bubble and Scrape was the final Sebadoh album to feature songs composed by founding member Eric Gaffney
.
, Bubble and Scrape features songwriting contributions from all three members: co-founders Gaffney and Lou Barlow
, and Jason Loewenstein
. Unlike the first three official Sebadoh albums, however, Barlow's contributions are mostly electric
, with one exception being the acoustic
duet, "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)."
Bubble and Scrape was the first Sebadoh album to be recorded entirely in the studio, marking a departure from the lo-fi sound of their previous albums. In addition to the greater use of electric guitars and the higher production value, the album features longer songs and more sophisticated song arrangements, paving the way for their more polished future albums, starting with Bakesale
in 1994.
" and "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)," but noted Loewenstein's emergence as a songwriter.
It was ranked #9 in the NME's
"Top 30 Heartbreak Albums" list in 2000.
The album was especially well-reviewed upon its reissue in 2008, with Matthew Fiander of Pop Matters writing, "It is an album that stands to benefit from a second life, and gives us as listeners the chance to hear a recording that we may remember but possibly overlooked the first time around." Amy Granzin of Pitchfork Media
wrote that it "may be the band's holistic best [album]," and that it "marked the point at which Sebadoh's aesthetic evolved from 'quick, where's the four-track
?' to reasonably well-crafted indie rock
."
in 1993, on CD and 12" vinyl
in the U.K. by Domino, and on 7" vinyl
, featuring different track listing, in the U.S. by Sub Pop.
The album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
-curated Don't Look Back
series, at Koko
in London, in May, 2008, and at the Pitchfork Music Festival
at Union Park
in Chicago
in July, 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band, Sebadoh
Sebadoh
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
. It was released by Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
in April 1993.
Bubble and Scrape was the final Sebadoh album to feature songs composed by founding member Eric Gaffney
Eric Gaffney
Eric Gaffney is a songwriter and recording artist. In 1989, he co-founded the indie rock band Sebadoh, and since 1998 has been performing and recording with his own project Fields of Gaffney. In 2007 a reformed Sebadoh began touring again.-External links:...
.
Music
Like its predecessor, Sebadoh IIISebadoh III
III is the third album by the American indie rock band, Sebadoh. It was released by Homestead Records in 1991.III was the first full length Sebadoh album to feature Jason Loewenstein, who joined the band's two founding members Lou Barlow and Eric Gaffney in 1989, and debuted on the "Gimme Indie...
, Bubble and Scrape features songwriting contributions from all three members: co-founders Gaffney and Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, and Jason Loewenstein
Jason Loewenstein
Jason Loewenstein is an American alternative rock singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist and a member of the indie-rock bands Sebadoh and The Fiery Furnaces...
. Unlike the first three official Sebadoh albums, however, Barlow's contributions are mostly electric
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, with one exception being the acoustic
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
duet, "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)."
Bubble and Scrape was the first Sebadoh album to be recorded entirely in the studio, marking a departure from the lo-fi sound of their previous albums. In addition to the greater use of electric guitars and the higher production value, the album features longer songs and more sophisticated song arrangements, paving the way for their more polished future albums, starting with Bakesale
Bakesale
Bakesale is the fifth album by American indie rock band, Sebadoh. It was released by Sub Pop in 1994.Bakesale was the first Sebadoh album released following the departure of founding member, Eric Gaffney, though he did drum on four of the album's tracks from a session engineered by Bob Weston. Tara...
in 1994.
Reception
Critics not only praised the strength of Barlow compositions like "Soul and FireSoul and Fire
Soul and Fire" is a 1993 song by Sebadoh and is the first song on their 1993 album Bubble and Scrape. It was released as a CD Single, 7" vinyl record, and 12" vinyl single....
" and "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)," but noted Loewenstein's emergence as a songwriter.
It was ranked #9 in the NME's
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
"Top 30 Heartbreak Albums" list in 2000.
The album was especially well-reviewed upon its reissue in 2008, with Matthew Fiander of Pop Matters writing, "It is an album that stands to benefit from a second life, and gives us as listeners the chance to hear a recording that we may remember but possibly overlooked the first time around." Amy Granzin of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
wrote that it "may be the band's holistic best [album]," and that it "marked the point at which Sebadoh's aesthetic evolved from 'quick, where's the four-track
4-track
4-track or 4-track tape may refer to:* The 4-track cartridge as an analogue music storage format popular from the late 1950s* A 4-track tape used in professional recording studios for multitrack recording...
?' to reasonably well-crafted indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
."
Singles
"Soul and Fire" was released as a singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1993, on CD and 12" vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the U.K. by Domino, and on 7" vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
, featuring different track listing, in the U.S. by Sub Pop.
Reissue
Bubble and Scrape was reissued by Domino in May, 2008, featuring a bonus disc of extra material.The album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
-curated Don't Look Back
Don't Look Back (concert series)
Don't Look Back is a yearly series of concerts in which London based promoters All Tomorrow's Parties ask artists and bands to play one of their seminal albums live in its entirety...
series, at Koko
Koko
-People, animals, and plants:* Emperor Kōkō , 58th emperor of Japan* Koko Taylor , R&B singer* Koko Pimentel , Philippine politician* Koko , ape that underwent training in Gorilla Sign Language...
in London, in May, 2008, and at the Pitchfork Music Festival
Pitchfork Music Festival
The Pitchfork Music Festival is an annual summer music festival organized by Pitchfork Media and held in Union Park in Chicago, IL. The festival, which is normally held over three days in July, focuses primarily on artists and bands from alternative rock, rap & hip-hop, electronica, and dance...
at Union Park
Union Park
Union Park is the name of a former baseball ground located in Baltimore, Maryland. The ground was home to the Baltimore Orioles during their first "glory years" in the 1890s. It was located at 25th and Barclay St....
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in July, 2008.
Track listing
- "Soul and FireSoul and FireSoul and Fire" is a 1993 song by Sebadoh and is the first song on their 1993 album Bubble and Scrape. It was released as a CD Single, 7" vinyl record, and 12" vinyl single....
" (Barlow) - 3:46 - "2 Years 2 Days" (Barlow) - 3:07
- "Telecosmic Alchemy" (Gaffney) - 2:15
- "Fantastic Disaster" (Gaffney) - 3:33
- "Happily Divided" (Loewenstein) - 2:20
- "Sister" (Loewenstein) - 2:43
- "Cliché" (Barlow) - 2:27
- "Sacred Attention" (Barlow) - 2:47
- "Elixir Is Zog" (Gaffney) - 2:06
- "Emma Get Wild" (Gaffney) - 1:21
- "Sixteen" (Loewenstein) - 1:29
- "Homemade" (Barlow) - 5:02
- "Forced Love" (Barlow) - 3:19
- "No Way Out" (Gaffney) - 2:15
- "Bouquet for a Siren" (Gaffney) - 2:56
- "Think (Let Tomorrow Bee)" (Barlow) - 3:12
- "Flood" (Loewenstein) - 1:34
Extra disc (2008 reissue)
- Reject
- Sister
- Bouquet for a Siren
- Emma Get Wild
- Flood / Ken
- Messin' Around
- Visibly Wasted II
- You Are Going Down
- Old Daze
- Part 1 - Lou
- Part 2 - Eric
- Part 3 - Eric
- Part 4 - Jason
- Happily Divided
- Soul and Fire [acoustic demo]
Personnel
- Lou Barlow – Guitar, Vocals
- Seana Carmody – Vocals
- Eric Gaffney – Bass, Guitar, Drums, Harp, Keyboards, Vocals
- Jason Loewenstein – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals
- Bob Weston – Engineer