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Sebastopol (Limited Edition)

Jay Farrar

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iTunes Review

While his two bands - Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt - virtually defined the alt-country aesthetic, Jay Farrar's solo work has been a sleepy, psychedelic trip through those same sandy plains. His lyrics remain elusive, and his guitars are often open-tuned. But where Farrar once seemed to be chasing the desolate ghost of a Texas songwriter like Townes Van Zandt, on his first official solo album he sounds like a psychedelic cowboy from Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo. His voice is sometimes distorted with the keyboards sonically manipulated. "Damaged Son" fritters away on a violin-synth, "Barstow" loiters with David Rawlings on lap steel. "Voodoo Candle," the album's single, kicks up with the distorted guitar-play giddy-up of Son Volt. At 17 tracks, however, Sebastapol is a dreamlike excursion meant to take several days.

Customer Reviews

Let it grow...

Yes, this is a dark and brooding record, but that's what makes Jay Farrar who he is. These 17 songs will all find a place to nest in your heart if you play them on a long midwestern drive. Lyrically, Farrar is his typical, scattered self; often times bleak and giving up all hope. Don't come looking for Son Volt outtakes. Jay strays a little out of his comfort zone with sitars and mellotron-sounding strings, but he doesn't get brave enough to give us any brain-sticking pop hooks. They are more like dull thuds in your head, and they feel like Jay.

Jay at his best

This is an extraordinary album: great melodies, great lyrics, just Jay stetching it out. Wish he'd do it more.

Neil Young meets the Beatles

Sebastopol is without a doubt my favorite solo work by Jay Farrar. Just imagine if Neil Young had hired the Revolver-era Beatles to help him arrange an album. Cool, interesting sounds add some refreshing variety to the Jay Farrar legacy. I do think the synth-strings on "Damaged Son" are a little heavy and blunt, and I could do without Fortissimo Wah altogether. But the rest of the tracks feature some of his best writing ever -- lyrically interesting and very very melodic. It's still Jay, it's still haunting and enigmatic... but it's a very solid set of songs. And the arrangements simply make it more interesting on repeated listenings. After all, he'd already DONE Trace, Anodyne and March 16-20. Why not let the boy have a little fun?

Biography

Born: December 26, 1966 in Belleville, IL

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

As a founding member of Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, songwriter Jay Farrar helped popularize the alt-country movement of the 1990s. He also launched a solo career during the following decade, making it plain that his musical ambitions...
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