#179
Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond (2007, Fat Possum)
I didn't realize how much I missed the classic era of Dinosaur Jr. until I popped this in my car CD player and the first bit of feedback burst through the speakers, followed quickly by an absolutely killer riff. By the time that first track, "Almost Ready", finished melting my eardrums, it felt like they'd never really gone anywhere. Truly one of the most impressive comebacks since Mission of Burma's several years previous. It isn't like any of these guys had disappeared in the time since their decidedly less than amicable split, quite the opposite in fact, but it was amazing how easily their talents coalesced once again to create that easily identifiable Dinosaur Jr. sound. The surprisingly melodic vocals, the rumbling guitar feedback, the incendiary guitar solos, all of it anchored by Murph's steady drumming. Whole "Almost Ready" serves as a perfect re-introduction to the band on this record, I think the second track "Crumble" really reflects the true Dino Jr. vibe - wrapping a 1980's indie pop tune in layers of Crazy Horse guitar. This is quickly followed by the record's big epic, the six and a half minute "Pick Me Up", which features a truly eerie guitar tone and a guitar solo that eats up nearly half the track's running time. Love it. The rest of the record unfolds pretty much as you might expect, with varying levels of feedback-laden guitar wankery and hummable vocal lines. We do get a little bit of a curve-ball thrown to us, courtesy of the back to back pairing of "We're Not Alone" and "I Got Lost". The former keeps the fiery guitar solo but utilizes a very clean guitar tone and shuffling drum approach to give a laid-back vibe, while that latter is even more soothing - exciting any sort of solo and featuring actual acoustic guitar! It makes for a nifty little detour and sets up the closing 1-2 retro punch of "Lighting Bulb" and "What If I Knew". Really it all boils down to little more than the classic Dinosaur Jr. line-up doing what they do best, but considering how thrilling that is, who could really ask for more?
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