Dinosaur Jr - Beyond

Seminal indie trio return in a more melodic vein

    Calling it a day 18 years ago after just three albums, Dinosaur Jr had the almost perfect capsule career, opting not to hang around long enough to get into a rut. Brought together again to wrest control of their back catalogue from, J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph have picked up where they left off with a set of coruscating guitar lines, taut rhythms and laconic vocals that equal anything from their brief past.

Almost Ready is as instantly appealing as their massive college hit of yore, Freak Scene, but elsewhere Mascis seems to have spent the interim years immersing himself in the more fractious elements of the Neil Young songbook. Pick Me Up nods towards their more sonically experimental earlier work, while the likes of This Is All I Came To Do and We’re Not Alone boast a slick guitar-group classicism not a million miles removed from Foo Fighters.

The reunion shows of 2005/06, while not as widely heralded as those of their contemporaries the Pixies, were nonetheless glorious affairs. Mascis and Barlow have plainly put their differences behind them, but where they go next is still a question of conjecture. Beyond could have been a quick cash-in to boost the coffers, but instead shows there’s still a hunger, vitality and, most importantly, an ability to work together to create a record full of charm and charge.  

PIAS | PIL 070 CD

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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