Seth was the lead singer of SuperChinchillaRescueMission, a favorite band of mine when they were around. After the band’s break up, Seth moved from Louisiana to L.A., sobered up, and put an incredible amount of time and energy into becoming a union electrician. He was also a Razorcake columnist for awhile; his stories were all forthright, full of real detail, and sympathetic. Seth then relocated up to Portland, Oregon where he still lives. Knowing all of this about Seth, it would be a big mistake to make the assumption that the reason that he recorded a solo acoustic record was because other punk notables—like Tim Barry of Avail and Chuck Regan of Hot Water Music—had done the same. I’ve always had a high regard for Seth. His creative work is poetic, stark, and un-aggrandizing, even though his work deals largely with lives lived hard and restless. I’ll be honest; ten years ago, I wouldn’t have given this quiet, burning-ember music much thought. But with the time passed and bands like Whiskey & Co. and The Evens using quiet music not for sleepiness but introspection and looking at the more subtle hardships and softer beauties in life, The Road Back Home is an honest testament to life and music. Funnily—because I’m writing this in L.A. and days like this don’t happen often—it’s raining outside, a soft patter, and it sounds almost like Seth’s playing in the front room. And that sounds like the perfect accompaniment to today.
–todd (Self-released, [email protected])