Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur

The debut album by Dinosaur Jr shows the band in a still immature phase of their evolution, a phase, however, in which the band's ability to fuse hardcore and punk into songs characterized by a solid melodic framework is already evident.

At the time, we are in 1985, the group was still simply called Dinosaur, a name they would have to change soon to avoid legal hassles with an obscure band of the same name. It's curious how the group almost adapted to the "jr" suffix later on, especially in their '90s production, characterized by naive touches also reflected in the album covers. The '80s albums, however, romantically express the inevitable pains of growth, but certainly not a childish attitude.

After Deep Wound disbanded, which saw J Mascis on drums and Lou Barlow on guitar laying the groundwork for grindcore, in Dinosaur, J Mascis switched to guitar, Lou Barlow took up the bass, and Murph sat at the drums.

Compared to the subsequent albums, the debut album reflects a more balanced situation where Lou Barlow has more space and alternates singing with J on some tracks. It is well known how J's despotic attitude and his inability to accept a situation of real musical partnership with Lou would lead to the latter's departure from the group and the transformation of Dinosaur Jr into J Mascis's personal band, with an inevitable and fatal impoverishment from a musical standpoint.

In "Dinosaur," the style consolidated in the two following albums, characterized by heavy use of distortion to create a thick wall of noise, and Lou's technique evolution of playing actual chords on the bass as if it were a guitar, working the fretboard to achieve a rich and deep sound, these features indeed are not yet present, the guitar sounds quite clean, often with low amplification and moderate volume, and Lou plays the bass in the classic note-by-note manner.

Nevertheless, the album is already fully "Dinosaur Jr" and where it appears immature in style, it gains in freshness and nuances. The band skillfully mixes many styles, from hardcore to folk, and although sometimes the joints and transitions are a bit forced and not entirely successful, it's impossible not to appreciate the ingenuity, talent, quality, and humor abundantly flowing from all the tracks.

Thus, it happens that even perhaps the album's weakest track, the somber "Gargoyle," suddenly transforms into a short but splendid psychedelic groove that is among the most unique moments of the album.

As for the rest, there's no use in going on about the hardcore explosions of "Bulbs of Passion" and "Does It Float," the sweetness tinged with humor (or sarcasm) of the melodic "The Leper," "Severed Lips," or the folk of "Cats in a Bowl," it's worth listening to them directly.