Dinosaur Jr.
Beyond

Let's clear things up right away by stating that "Beyond," the album marking the return of Dinosaur Jr to the studio after last year's reunion tour, is an amazing record. The CD will be released on May 1st, but having the chance to download it online, of course, I didn't hesitate, and for two weeks now, I practically can't take it out of the player. I’ll be buying "Beyond" as soon as it's available in stores, and you should too because such inspired albums don't come out often, do they?

Like the Lemonheads (another welcome and not odd return, moreover with an enjoyable album where J Mascis also had a hand), for the Dinosaurs, time doesn't seem to have passed, and they start exactly where they left off: saturated, slurred melodies from that lazy voice, punk rhythms, distorted guitars played at crazy volumes, and riffs that stick in your head and won't come off. What makes the difference in these cases, where the danger of "already heard" is just around the corner, is the quality of the songs, and in this, fortunately for him and us, J has rarely faltered.  And it gives quite an impression to hear in quick succession one of the many new bands recently stepping into the spotlight that have captured your heart (I'm thinking of the likes of the Strokes, Interpol? which I, for example, don't dislike),  hyped by the press and MTV, and then you measure them against "Beyond" and ask yourself if it's the desperate search for new emotions that made you appreciate them beyond their real artistic merits, or if we're truly talking about different fabric, different class. I realize, however, that I'm starting to go off track, and the space of a review wouldn't suffice to condense a topic that would bring into play too many factors to consider.

Returning to the album, I insist that you should buy it just to have at any moment "Pick Me Up" and "What If I Knew", which rightfully enter among the most beautiful written by the brave J. The first one has incredible power and sound and slaps you until it opens with a surreal bridge that leaves you dead on the ground; the second is moving and intense, and J's melancholic and subdued voice carries you to the marvelous and electric chorus where he asks (sarcastically?) what if he'd never known. Also noteworthy are a couple of tracks where Lou Barlow sings, and I presume he's the author since they sound like Sebadoh, and never has one of their albums seemed so democratic!

Every time a reunion is looming, everyone is very cautious because the smell of emptiness and purely business-driven motives is more than a foreboding. But when there’s art and still the ability to offer something, why not enjoy it? And good for J and company if they also make a few bucks off of it? The recent experiences of famous reunions like those of the Pixies and Dinosaur Jr teach us that you can still be protagonists after twenty years, leaving for once the scarecrow and the role of the caricature to someone else.