Indie rock stalwarts Sebadoh offer an alternative to anxiety on their new song, “Celebrate the Void,” which will appear on their first album in six years, Act Surprised, out May 24th via Dangerbird Records.
“Celebrate the Void” begins as a brooding head-nodder marked by plodding drums and warbling guitar licks that turn into a heavy crunch when the chorus hits. Halfway through, however, the track gathers steam and transforms into a blistering rocker that wraps with the unexpected rallying cry, “Empty my my/Celebrate the void.”
In a statement, Sebadoh frontman Lou Barlow quipped that the track’s first line – “I get the feeling you don’t feel me” – could be a line in an Ariana Grande track. “I followed it from there through some general complaints about a composite character in my life, someone I could never crack,” he continued. “Sometimes the walls are too high. If you think about it, the resistance was always there, even in the very beginning. What to do? Pick endlessly at the seams? Replay moments in my head looking for a way to explain it all? No, stop, there is no one answer and that’s OK… Celebrate the void.”
Sebadoh recorded Act Surprised in Western Massachusetts with producer Justin Pizzoferatto. The record marks the trio’s first since 2013’s Defend Yourself.
Sebadoh will embark on a North American tour in support of Act Surprised this spring. The first leg launches May 22nd in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and wraps June 22nd in Boston, Massachusettes. The second kicks off July 11th in Montreal, Canada and ends July 27th in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Eleanor Friedberger will serve as support during the second half of the tour.
Act Surprised Track List
1. “Phantom”
2. “Celebrate the Void”
3. “Follow the Breath”
4. “Medicate”
5. “See-saw”
6. “Vacation”
7. “Stunned”
8. “Fool”
9. “Raging River”
10. “Sunshine”
11. “Act Surprised”
12. “Battery”
13. “Belief”
14. “Leap Year”
15. “Reykjavik”
Sebadoh Tour Dates
May 22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls
May 23 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café
May 24 – Evanston, IL @ Space
May 25 – Minneapolis, MN @ Turf Club
May 26 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb
May 28 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
May 29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
May 31 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
June 1 – Vancouver, BC @ Fox Caberet
June 2 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
June 5 – San Francisco, CA @ Slims
June 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Roxy
June 7 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah
June 8 – Tustin, CA @ Marty’s on Newport
June 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
June 10 – Albuquerque, NM @ Launch Pad
June 12 – Austin, TX @ Parish
June 13 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall (upstairs)
June 15 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
June 16 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
June 21 – Holyoke, MA @ Gateway City Arts Center
June 22 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
July 11 – Montreal, PQ @ Ritz(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 12 – Toronto, ON @ Horsehoe Tavern(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 13 – Detroit, MI @ Shelter(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 14 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 16 – Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theatre(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 17 – St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 18 – Nashville, TN @ Exit/In(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 19 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 20 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 22 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 23 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 24 – Philadlephia, PA @ Underground Arts(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 26 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom(with Eleanor Friedberger)
July 27 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes(with Eleanor Friedberger)