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Beyond
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Beyond
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More than most bands,
Dinosaur Jr.
left behind some unfinished business -- not just in one regard but two. First, there was the notoriously acrimonious dismissal of original bassist
Lou Barlow
after the group's third album,
Bug
, just before the band made the leap to the majors, but when the time came for guitarist/singer/songwriter
J Mascis
to retire the band's name, he slyly turned the words of his idol
Neil Young
upside down, choosing to fade away rather than burn out. After 1997's
Hand It Over
,
Mascis
ran out the clock, bringing his contract with
Sire
/
Reprise
to a close, doing some solo acoustic tours before forming
the Fog
and cutting a couple records with them without making any real impact outside of his devoted fans. And since he didn't break beyond his cult,
seemed to belong solely to the history books -- the band that bridged the gap between
the Replacements
and
Nirvana
, the band that was seminal but not widely popular, a band that for whatever reason wasn't passed down to younger brothers and sisters the way their Boston compatriots
the Pixies
were. Perhaps it was because, unlike
, they summed up their times too well, since there was no other
alt-rock
musician that was as quintessentially slacker as
. With his laconic drawl and anthems of ambivalence, he was a figurehead for a generation who chose to stay on the sidelines, so sliding away from the spotlight was a logical path for
: he never seemed to really want the fame, so it seemed that he'd be happier on the fringe, which is where he wound up.
All of this made the reunion of the classic
J
-
Lou
Murph
lineup in 2005 all the more surprising: there may have been unfinished business, but such a mess seemed inherent to their mystique. But the group got together to tour in support of reissues of their first three albums, and defying all logic, the reunion worked -- working so well that the band decided to record a full-length album,
Beyond
, releasing it in May 2007. The very existence of this new album is a surprise, but the real shock is that
is a flat-out great record, a startling return to form for
as a guitarist and songwriter and
as a band. Although this is from the lineup responsible for
You're Living All Over Me
, two records so drenched in noise they still sound like aural assaults decades after their original release,
sonically resembles latter-day
Dinosaur
albums; it's not as harsh and it's stylistically varied, ranging from full-throttle rockers to skipping
country-rock
and elegiac
ballads
. In a way, this sounds like the album that could have been released instead of
Green Mind
if
had stuck around, or if
made the kind of grand major-label debut many expected them to deliver in the days before
Nevermind
. Musically, this suits that description --
is not a breakthrough or reinvention, it's a consolidation of their strengths, which means it sounds very much like the band did at its peak -- but in terms of attitude,
could never have made an album as assured as this in 1992, simply because he never was this confident. Naturally, this deliberate disengagement was a large part of
's appeal: it not only made them sound distinct from their predecessors, but
' ambivalence about anything and everything made his guitar virtuosity and great songs seemed almost accidental, their very casualness proof of his genius.
is very different in that for the first time,
is assertive about his talent. He sounds engaged -- in music, in life (as he winkingly acknowledges on the chorus of the opening
"Almost Ready,"
"C'mon life/I'm almost ready") -- and it gives the album a powerful sense of purpose that the classic
albums were lacking by their very design. But
isn't great simply because it's cohesive; it's great because it's as bold, vital, and monstrous as their best early work. As soon as the album crashes open with
it's clear that
has tapped into the essence of their music, and their thundering roar sounds as vivid and thrilling as it was the first time around. After that visceral shock fades, it soon becomes apparent that
' writing is as forceful and surprisingly melodic as his guitar playing, and it soon becomes apparent that he's no longer burying his heart or humor beneath his band's walls of sounds; they're proudly out on display. This fact is brought into sharp relief by
's songs, two tunes that are typically turned inward, yet they're enlivened by being delivered by this remarkable band, which gives
's songs a backbone they never quite had in
Sebadoh
. Plus, the very presence of
Barlow
's songs helps emphasize that
is a full-fledged reunion, the sound of a group making amends and reconnecting with their strengths.
left the band because
didn't let his songs on
's records, but now that they're back together, it's a fully collaborative effort, and the band is stronger for it, as this unexpectedly glorious reunion proves.
isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Dinosaur Jr.
left behind some unfinished business -- not just in one regard but two. First, there was the notoriously acrimonious dismissal of original bassist
Lou Barlow
after the group's third album,
Bug
, just before the band made the leap to the majors, but when the time came for guitarist/singer/songwriter
J Mascis
to retire the band's name, he slyly turned the words of his idol
Neil Young
upside down, choosing to fade away rather than burn out. After 1997's
Hand It Over
,
Mascis
ran out the clock, bringing his contract with
Sire
/
Reprise
to a close, doing some solo acoustic tours before forming
the Fog
and cutting a couple records with them without making any real impact outside of his devoted fans. And since he didn't break beyond his cult,
seemed to belong solely to the history books -- the band that bridged the gap between
the Replacements
and
Nirvana
, the band that was seminal but not widely popular, a band that for whatever reason wasn't passed down to younger brothers and sisters the way their Boston compatriots
the Pixies
were. Perhaps it was because, unlike
, they summed up their times too well, since there was no other
alt-rock
musician that was as quintessentially slacker as
. With his laconic drawl and anthems of ambivalence, he was a figurehead for a generation who chose to stay on the sidelines, so sliding away from the spotlight was a logical path for
: he never seemed to really want the fame, so it seemed that he'd be happier on the fringe, which is where he wound up.
All of this made the reunion of the classic
J
-
Lou
Murph
lineup in 2005 all the more surprising: there may have been unfinished business, but such a mess seemed inherent to their mystique. But the group got together to tour in support of reissues of their first three albums, and defying all logic, the reunion worked -- working so well that the band decided to record a full-length album,
Beyond
, releasing it in May 2007. The very existence of this new album is a surprise, but the real shock is that
is a flat-out great record, a startling return to form for
as a guitarist and songwriter and
as a band. Although this is from the lineup responsible for
You're Living All Over Me
, two records so drenched in noise they still sound like aural assaults decades after their original release,
sonically resembles latter-day
Dinosaur
albums; it's not as harsh and it's stylistically varied, ranging from full-throttle rockers to skipping
country-rock
and elegiac
ballads
. In a way, this sounds like the album that could have been released instead of
Green Mind
if
had stuck around, or if
made the kind of grand major-label debut many expected them to deliver in the days before
Nevermind
. Musically, this suits that description --
is not a breakthrough or reinvention, it's a consolidation of their strengths, which means it sounds very much like the band did at its peak -- but in terms of attitude,
could never have made an album as assured as this in 1992, simply because he never was this confident. Naturally, this deliberate disengagement was a large part of
's appeal: it not only made them sound distinct from their predecessors, but
' ambivalence about anything and everything made his guitar virtuosity and great songs seemed almost accidental, their very casualness proof of his genius.
is very different in that for the first time,
is assertive about his talent. He sounds engaged -- in music, in life (as he winkingly acknowledges on the chorus of the opening
"Almost Ready,"
"C'mon life/I'm almost ready") -- and it gives the album a powerful sense of purpose that the classic
albums were lacking by their very design. But
isn't great simply because it's cohesive; it's great because it's as bold, vital, and monstrous as their best early work. As soon as the album crashes open with
it's clear that
has tapped into the essence of their music, and their thundering roar sounds as vivid and thrilling as it was the first time around. After that visceral shock fades, it soon becomes apparent that
' writing is as forceful and surprisingly melodic as his guitar playing, and it soon becomes apparent that he's no longer burying his heart or humor beneath his band's walls of sounds; they're proudly out on display. This fact is brought into sharp relief by
's songs, two tunes that are typically turned inward, yet they're enlivened by being delivered by this remarkable band, which gives
's songs a backbone they never quite had in
Sebadoh
. Plus, the very presence of
Barlow
's songs helps emphasize that
is a full-fledged reunion, the sound of a group making amends and reconnecting with their strengths.
left the band because
didn't let his songs on
's records, but now that they're back together, it's a fully collaborative effort, and the band is stronger for it, as this unexpectedly glorious reunion proves.
isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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