Dinosaur Jr.

Recent years have shown that aging acts of the late 80's and 90's alternative rock movement still have what it takes to create a solid album. The Flaming Lips have their niche in the world of psychedelia. Sonic Youth records solid, yet somewhat subdued rock albums for their sound. Yo La Tengo bends genre at every turn. Even the Lemonheads showed us last year that three chord rock still lives. This year's fossil of the alternative age returns from a ten year hiatus and packs quite the punch. Dinosaur Jr., the J. Masics wonder child of the 80's and early 90's, is back with their eighth studio album Beyond. This album is also the first album since 1988's Bug with the original line-up of J. Masics on guitar, Lou Barlow (who left Dino Jr. for the band Sebadoh) on bass and Murph on drums. When a band takes such a long break from recording, one may wonder what the album is going to sound like. Dinosaur Jr.'s last record, Hand It Over was released in 1997 making this year's release of Beyond their first in a decade.

And a triumphant return it is. From the opening licks of "Almost Ready", to the shattering final guitar solo of "What If I Knew", even a decade hasn't changed the essence that made Dinosaur Jr. what they were. Many critics are claiming that this is their best album since their groundbreaking You're Living All Over Me from 1987. Twenty years later, their sound has been preserved. Loud guitars in a wave of noise punctuated by J Masics' furious guitar solos and raspy vocals, backed up by a strong rhythm section.

One thing that may be hard for Dinosaur Jr. to overcome with such a return to their normal sound after said hiatus is the fact that the world of popular music, and even indie music, has changed a lot since 1987, and a lot's changed since 1997. Even though many of today's indie rockers may look to Dinosaur Jr. as mentors, the sound of rock has evolved quite a bit. Although fans of Dinosaur Jr. will love the return to the standard, it may be hard for people who are not familiar with the band to just jump onboard the wave of frenzied guitars.

That being said, I'm pretty certain that the band doesn't give a shit what new people think. It must be refreshing for a band to just be able to do what they want and not really mind hype, massive exposure and the weariness of having a huge following to bog them down with negative feedback. This is all here-say, but I can't imagine them really caring that their sound is archaic in a way.


To consider bands from the late 80's and early 90's like Dinosaur Jr. as classic rock is something something strange and new to our generation and the generation who were old enough to see them from the beginning. Even bands like Pearl Jam are reaching this "classic rock" status. To think that almost twenty years ago these bands were in their infancy is startling. Beyond stands as a beacon that this sound isn't exactly old-fashioned but can still sound fresh and new. It's almost retro, but can you call it retro if the band was known for helping define a sound?

Songs like "Crumble" sound as if they were written alongside their hit "Feel the Pain" from 1994. I can see a Spike Jonze-directed video released on mTV and put on constant rotation (that is, if we still had the mTV of 10 years ago). "It's Me" and "Back To Your Heart" sound as though you would be throwing yourself from the stage decked out in flannel with greasy long hair and sweat in your eyes.

The standout track is "Pick Me Up" which is the definition of what Dinosaur Jr. does best. The main is infuriatingly catchy. The crescendo of noise and the wailing of J Masic's guitar at the end of the song has an epic urgency that defines their return. There is even some synthesizer action on this song adding something a little different to the sound of the rest of the album, yet not sticking out like a sore thumb. This song would be impressive at a live show.

Beyond is almost a time capsule of an age that is ridden with just as many clichés as the 80's. In this way, Beyond is a great album. However, those who don't love the sound of alternative rock, grunge, noise or whatever you want to classify Dinosaur Jr. as, won't see anything new here and may just decide to sidestep this record. Usually, I would say that the best way to start listening to a band is by starting with their first album. Since this is nothing entirely fresh and new, Beyond is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a good old standard rock disc.

Among the midst of other bands from this age that are entering this possible distinction of classic artists, Dinosaur Jr. has no bones about doing what they do best and not changing format. This alone is a noble effort. Beyond is definitely a solid album. It's nothing new, but sometime a taste of the days of old is refreshing!

by Paul Tsikitas

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