Interscope Records
1999
One Part Lullaby
About This Album
Folk Implosion disappeared from view not long after Dare to Be Surprised, which failed to capitalize on "Natural One"'s surprise success. Perhaps the group effort of 1998's The Sebadoh made Lou Barlow want to claim control of Folk Implosion on One Part Lullaby. Though John Davis is credited with co-writing the songs, "Lou sang lead vocal and wrote most of the words," making this feel like a Barlow solo project blessed with greater popcraft. It's more cohesive than Dare to Be Surprised, built around the trip-hop/new wave blend that made "Natural One" a hit, but that turns out to be a mixed blessing. Part of the charm of Folk Implosion was that it felt like two friends just kicking back, making weird noises, and writing quirky songs. Some of that remains, especially in the cheap synths and other electronic instrumentation, but One Part Lullaby is far more measured, filled with songs performed at the same basic tempo, with similar hooks and arrangements. It's not mellow, necessarily, but has a meditative mood, which fits Barlow's disarmingly introspective lyrics -- something familiar to Sebadoh and solo albums, but previously unheard of on Implosion albums.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,7 and 13)

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