Sebadoh/Octa#Grape/Likenesses

Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou Barlow formed Sebadoh nearly 30 years ago and the indie rock band almost instantly became critics' darlings. The band's lo-fi recordings represented a departure from the slick stuff of commercial rock and put the emphasis on emotional vocals (and the super-sensitive Barlow was plenty capable of delivering the goods on that front). The band was on and off again throughout the early 2000s but the "classic line-up" reunited in 2007 and has been going strong ever since, even as Barlow devotes a good amount of his time to the reunited Dinosaur Jr. The band's latest album, Defend Yourself, doesn't feature the same kind of lo-fi techniques that distinguished early albums but it rocks a little harder, something that's apparent right from the first notes of the defiant opening track "I Will." (Niesel)