| III | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 16, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | Late March 1991 atFort Apache Studios and at home. | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:37 | |||
| Label | Homestead(original release) Domino(2006 reissue) | |||
| Producer | Sean Slade | |||
| Sebadoh chronology | ||||
| ||||
| 2006 Reissue album cover | ||||
 III was reissued with the Gimme Indie Rock EP included as a bonus disc in 2006 | ||||
III (orSebadoh III) is the thirdalbum by theAmericanindie rock bandSebadoh. It was released byHomestead Records in 1991.
III was the first full length Sebadoh album to featureJason Loewenstein, who joined the band's two founding membersLou Barlow andEric Gaffney in 1989, and debuted on the "Gimme Indie Rock" single earlier that year.
The album cover features a childhood photograph taken by Gaffney.[1]
The album was recorded forUS$1,300.[1] It was recorded atFort Apache Studios, then located in theRoxbury neighborhood ofBoston, Massachusetts, and at home, during the last two weeks of March 1991.
III features songwriting contributions from all three band members, withfolky, melodic material by Barlow, open-tuned drone acoustic, and noisyhardcore rock by Gaffney, and songs that bridged the gap between those extremes by Loewenstein.[2] It opens with theelectric "The Freed Pig," an attack by Barlow on his ex-bandmateJ. Mascis, who kicked him out from his former bandDinosaur Jr. in 1989.[3]
In an interview withChairs Missing Fanzine in April 1991, Barlow explained that the album contained "Every type [of music] that we're capable of playing but not like, 'Well, here's ourfunk song and here's our folk song.' It's just every facet of our power is exercised to its fullest on the record ... There's a lot of electric stuff - a lot of4-track stuff. It's a really balanced LP. This one is truly a group effort."[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[4] |
| Drowned in Sound | 9/10[5] |
| The Independent |  [6] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| Pitchfork | 9.3/10[3] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
| The Skinny | [10] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[11] |
Along withPavement's 1992 debutSlanted and Enchanted,III is considered one of the "cornerstones of 90sindie rock," and helped establish thelo-fi subgenre.[2] The album has been included in various best-of lists in the years since its release, includingAlternative Press' "Top 99 of '85–'99" in 1995 (#85) andSpin's "Top 90 Albums of the 90's" in 1999 (#41).
AllMusic criticStephen Thomas Erlewine praised the "sensitivity" and "strong melodies" of Barlow's acoustic material, and called the album "a kaleidoscopic summation of various American underground rock genres of the '80s, as well as a launching pad for the introspective obsessions of '90s indie rock."[2] Upon its reissue in 2006, Brandon Stosuy ofPitchfork wrote that "even after taking a step back fromIII it still deserves every last bit of praise. Sebadoh followed this effort with other fine moments; nowhere else did they so perfectly meld rickety folk, tin-can guitar, Shrimper-style ambiance, feedbacking "power sludge," eccentric compositional constructions, carcinogenic hooks, and poetic sincerity."[3]
"The Freed Pig" was covered by the American indie rock bandThe Breeders on theHead to ToeEP in 1994.
"Spoiled" was re-released on theKids soundtrack in 1995, and can be heard during the film'sclosing credits.
III was reissued byDomino Records in 2006, featuring a second disc of extra material and newliner notes. The bonus disc includes the "Gimme Indie Rock" EP in its entirety.
All songs written by Lou Barlow unless otherwise stated.
All songs written by Eric Gaffney unless otherwise stated.
Additional personnel
