PREMIERE: Barlow’s Every Time I Saw Him

Of all the ‘90s revivalism within the last couple years, prescription the resurgence of prolific lo-fi songwriters is arguably one of the most welcome returns. Where Liz Phair and Robert Pollard made careers off of initial (or, buy in Pollard’s case, treat sustained) use of four track recorders for frequent output, Frankie Cosmos and Alex G bear the closest resemblance to torch carriers with seemingly endless back catalogs committed to Garageband in place of tape.

But then there’s the curious case of Ethan Oliva, the de facto leader of Pittsburgh three piece Barlow, who sounds less like he’s trying to revive anything and more like he’s daring to emulate Pollard’s pace.

In 2015, Barlow not only released a full length and split with Naked Ant, but Oliva additionally tacked on a 35-song solo album and, almost obligatorily, a 52-song tribute to Guided by Voices before the year’s end. Sure, there’s almost certainly bound to be a few stinkers given that frequency, but Oliva’s gauzy, tape-bound production coupled with the band’s concise song lengths and cross-pollination of shoegaze and second wave emo never seems to exhaust or repeat itself.

Rounded out by drummer Andy Yadeski and bassist Jake Nowoczynski, Barlow greet summer heatwaves by simultaneously piling on the distortion and their most pop-friendly tendencies with Every Time I Saw Him, which we are premiering today ahead of its official release later this week. For more information or to purchase a tape, check out the band’s Bandcamp.