Skip to content
Premieres

Hear Sebadoh’s Bouncy ‘Defend Yourself’ Bummer ‘State of Mine’

Sebadoh State of Mine defend yourself, new song, video, KEXP

In a chat with SPIN, Lou Barlow described Defend Yourself, Sebadoh’s first full-length album in 14 years, as “another batch of breakup songs.” Barlow recently split with his wife and partner of 25 years, and that post-breakup sense of confusion and self-doubt are all over new song “State of Mine.” Though Barlow played this one a few times solo in 2012, Sebadoh debuted their version during a recent taping at Seattle radio station KEXP (above), and now they’ve shared the album track (below).

Despite a lyrical focus on failure, “State of Mine” bounces with an air of optimism that borders on giddiness, echoing the Replacements’ country-tinged tunes. The latest song lacks the piano-and-harmony-aided sunshine of Defend Yourself‘s first advance track, “I Will,” but it’s easy to see both fitting together quite well on the LP. Pick up Defend Yourself on September 17; also below, watch the rest of Sebadoh’s four-song KEXP set, which includes “Keep the Boy Alive” and “My Drugs” from last year’s The Secret EP, plus “Careful” from 1994’s Bakesale.

//www.youtube.com/embed/6f3E3AtAm3U