Barlow Displays the Heart Behind Edgy, Muffled Style

Lou Barlow is the king of lo-fi. The albums by his various band projects (Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, etc.) typically sound as if they were recorded inside a cereal box, which is an interesting enough aesthetic, though it tends to put a little distance between the artist and his audience.

But at the Troubadour on Wednesday, Barlow (billed as half of the Folk Implosion) revealed the heart beating beneath all those muffled beats and dark melodies. Standing alone onstage with an acoustic guitar, Barlow came off as a strangely urgent force.

Accompanied only by recorded drumbeats and other effects, Barlow was a deft, if uncomplicated player, and he stood as a kind of post-alternative Richard Thompson with his sophisticated song craft and edgy, emotional content.

As alternative folk, Barlow’s voice is often less compelling than that of current indie hero Elliott Smith. But even if Barlow’s acoustic music is less distinctive, he does tell more jokes.

The singer was also in a noticeably upbeat mood, but the songs remained dark and dripping with irony. His performance of Foreigner’s schlocky classic-rock hit “Cold as Ice” almost certainly had ironic intentions, but it was played with enough restraint to reveal some true emotion amid the ominous picking, and the Troubadour crowd had no trouble understanding it.