Harmacy | ||||
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Studio album by Sebadoh | ||||
Released | August 20, 1996 | |||
Genre | Indie rock | |||
Length | 50:12 | |||
Label |
Sub Pop (USA) Domino (UK) City Slang (Germany) Fellaheen (Australia) |
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Producer | Wally Gagel, Bryce Goggin, Eric Masunaga, Tim O'Heir | |||
Sebadoh chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | |
Robert Christgau | A− |
Pitchfork Media | (8.9/10) |
Rolling Stone |
Harmacy is the sixth album by American indie rock band Sebadoh. It was released by Sub Pop in 1996.
It is the second and final Sebadoh album to feature drummer Bob Fay, who replaced founding member Eric Gaffney in 1994.
The album cover features a photograph of a pharmacy in Cashel, Ireland, taken by band member Jason Loewenstein on tour. The missing "P" gave the album its title.
As with its predecessor, Bakesale, the songwriting on Harmacy was handled primarily by Loewenstein and founding member Lou Barlow, with Fay contributing the lone track, "Sforzando!", and the band covering "I Smell a Rat" by American hard rock band The Bags. Their cover was featured on the soundtrack for the 1998 American comedy-thriller film Homegrown.
Like Bakesale, the album was a "(relatively) polished production", and featured pervasive use of electric guitars and longer song structures, marking a clear departure from the band's lo-fi, often acoustic earlier albums like their release, Sebadoh III (1991).
Solo acoustic versions of "On Fire" and "Willing to Wait" were released prior to the album's release, on the 1994 "Rebound" single and the 1995 compilation Rare on Air, Volume 2: KCRW Live, respectively.
Released in the wake of Barlow's Top 40 hit, "Natural One", with his band The Folk Implosion, Harmacy became Sebadoh's first charting album in the U.S., expanding on the success of Bakesale, and yielding the Modern Rock Tracks hit, "Ocean".