Dinosaur Jr
Beyond
Fat Possum CD
As a long time Dinosaur Jr fan (I used to scratch “J Mascis is God” on all my notebooks and folders back in high school), needless to say, I couldn’t be more excited about the long-awaited release of Beyond.
Beyond is the first album with all three original Dinosaur members since the release of Bug in 1988, when bassist and future Sebadoh leader Lou Barlow left the band shortly thereafter. This reformed group sounds as energetic and fresh as they did over eighteen years ago…but was there really any doubt? Well, honestly I was a little skeptical they could bring back the dynamic ear-splitting rock of past, but they proved my disbelieving ass wrong. God damn was I an idiot to doubt this trio because Beyond is astounding! It definitely surpassed my expectations.
All the elements you have grown to love are still present. Murph’s drumming is spot-on, J’s guitar-wanking mastery is upfront and loud and his vocal delivery is still crackly, and Lou’s bass heavily plucks along. There’s definitely a collective contribution on Beyond, because Lou takes the main vocal duty for two great tracks, “Back to Your Heart” and “Lightning Bulb.” Any past animosity between the band mates seem to have disappeared. In the past, it was this tension that helped the band write dynamically amazing songs, but they prove on Beyond that they can write equally incredible music as cordial friends. Also, even though that fuzzy distortion is still humming around every note J picks, the production is sharp and crystalline, far from the murky sounds of their earlier work.
Every song on Beyond is damn good. Through upbeat rockers like the opener “Almost Ready” and “Pick Me Up,” the crunching “It’s Me,” mellow contemplative soothers “Back to Your Heat” and “Crumble,” and the spine-chilling acoustic track “I Got Lost,” Beyond is a very special album. I had the great opportunity to see the band tour not too long ago and it was one of the great highlights of my life, especially since I was too young to see the original lineup.
Few reunited bands successfully recapture that magic that made them special in the first place, and without doubt Dinosaur Jr accomplishes that here. Beyond is up there with the three original greats, Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug. Is it the best release? Not sure if I’d say that…but if I listen to Beyond a few more times, it would be hard not to nominate it as the best of the best. Right now, it’s definitely the best release of 2007.
J Mascis is still God!
by Fake Train
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