Sebadoh’s ‘Harmacy’ turns 30 — and it’s getting the deluxe treatment it deserves

Mark your calendars, ‘90s indie-rock lifers: Sub Pop is bringing Sebadoh’s beloved ‘Harmacy’ back from out-of-print purgatory. The 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition drops worldwide on Friday, November 20th, 2026, and it’s stacked — the original 19 tracks plus 16 bonus cuts of alternate takes, rare B-sides, BBC sessions, and live rarities, all freshly remastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering.

Finally Back on Wax

This one’s been a long time coming. ‘Harmacy’ — Sebadoh’s seminal 1996 indie-rock statement — has been maddeningly out of physical print for years. That changes on November 20th, when Sub Pop unleashes the expanded edition on 2xLP, 2xCD, and everywhere you stream. We’re talking alternate versions, unearthed B-sides, BBC sessions, and live cuts from the ‘Harmacy’ era, all folded into one sprawling package.

Today’s teaser is an alternate version of Beauty of the Ride — give it a spin on YouTube below.

The Vinyl Details

Preorders are open now for CD, LP, and digital via Sub Pop. Grab the LP from megamart.subpop.com in North America, Mega Mart Europe for the UK/EU crowd, or your neighborhood record shop, and you’ll score the limited Loser edition pressed on Sky Blue and Opaque Red Sparkle vinyl (while supplies last, naturally). The LP also comes bundled with a 12-page zine — “Lou’s Harmacy Timeline” — written and illustrated by Sebadoh’s own Lou Barlow.

A Quick History Lesson

Sebadoh formed back in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, built around Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow (yes, of Dinosaur Jr. and The Folk Implosion fame). Jason Loewenstein joined the fold in 1989, Bob Fay in 1994. By the time ‘Harmacy’ rolled around, the band had already dropped five records and reshaped what indie rock could sound like — lo-fi home recordings that traded studio polish for raw intimacy, with Barlow’s songwriting pulling as much from Joni Mitchell as it did from Bob Mould.

‘Harmacy’ is their breakout sixth album, originally released in August 1996 to critical and popular acclaim alike. It’s Sebadoh at their most gloriously conflicted — caught between screaming punk catharsis and gentle crooning, packed with achingly personal songs. Riding the wave of The Folk Implosion’s Top 40 hit “Natural One,” ‘Harmacy’ became Sebadoh’s first charting album in the US, and their subsequent tour was their biggest yet — sold-out rooms full of fans screaming along to the deceptively sunny single Ocean.

The critics were fully on board too. “Harmacy is nothing short of a masterpiece,” said Interview Magazine. The New Yorker called it a collection of “perfectly crafted, honest (read: ambiguous and emotionally twisted), impassioned songs about love and hate.” Rolling Stone, The Village Voice, and NME all named it among the best albums of 1996.

Full Tracklisting

1. On Fire
2. Prince-S
3. Ocean
4. Nothing Like You
5. Crystal Gypsy
6. Beauty of the Ride
7. Mind Reader
8. Sforzando!
9. Willing to Wait
10. Hillbilly II
11. Zone Doubt
12. Too Pure
13. Worst Thing
14. Love to Fight
15. Perfect Way
16. Can’t Give Up
17. Open Ended
18. Weed Against Speed
19. I Smell a Rat
20. Willing to Wait (Alternate Version)
21. Worst Thing (Alternate Version)
22. Beauty of the Ride (Alternate Version)
23. Too Pure (Alternate Version)
24. Real Deal (Studio B-Side)
25. Real Deal (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)
26. It’s Gonna Be Loud (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)
27. I Feel O.K. (BBC Live Version, Radio 1)
28. Open Ended (Acoustic Demo)
29. Crest (BBC Live Version, John Peel)
30. Willing to Wait (Live)
31. Psyched to Die (Live)
32. Mind Reader (Live)
33. Can’t Give Up (Live)
34. Worst Thing (Live)
35. Love to Fight (Live)

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