Sebadoh, Waveless

Lou Barlow’s anxieties just don’t quit. Six years after eighth Sebadoh album Defend Yourself, May’s new Act Surprised oozes a sludgy, 15-track epic, reverberating the same unease that colors his frenetic guitar work in Dinosaur Jr. and the ennui of his folksier solo output. Alongside Jason Loewenstein and Bob D’Amico, Barlow live wires a jittery collision of grunge and college rock. – Libby Webster