Jason Loewenstein

At Sixes and Sevens (Sub Pop)

Comments (0) By Ben Mercer Thursday, Aug 29 2002

On the front of At Sixes and Sevens, Jason Loewenstein's name appears scrawled in a feverishly etched, scratched-over-for-emphasis font very similar to the one Pavement used to grace the cover of its celebrated 1992 album, Slanted and Enchanted. This is worth mentioning because Loewenstein is a former member of Sebadoh, another lo-fi, hit-and-miss outfit that covered much of the same ground that Pavement did way back in the '90s. Both bands have since shattered, littering the floors of indie rock with a wealth of solo albums and side projects. Too bad Loewenstein is no Stephen Malkmus.

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Loewenstein is behind nearly every aspect of At Sixes and Sevens, his first solo venture since joining Sebadoh more than ten years ago. As if desperate to assert his many talents now that he's free from the shackles of being an actual member of an actual band, he took part in the plucking, strumming, and banging of each and every instrument. He also designed the cover. He even apparently pressed the "record" button. Ambitious, yes. Successful? Not entirely. There are 41 minutes and 3 seconds of the same straightforward alternative, rendered with the same active electric guitar and the same knocking drums. The primary differences among many of the songs are the track number and the title. Though there is a handful of bright spots (the closing track, "Transform," a driving slice of bitter, biting noise, among them), the rest is fairly monotonous, suggesting that Loewenstein indeed might have been better off with a little help from his friends. It's cut-and-dry rock 'n' roll. A little too dry.