Beyond

8.9/10

As one of the lesser known yet no less beloved of the bands that were a part of the brewing alternative music scene in Boston in the late eighties Dinosaur Jr was always lacadaisically fantastic. J Mascis' thin voice, guitar virtuosity despite his unkempt slacker appearance the insouciant nature of the songs counterbalancing the tight compelling quality that made them worth listening to. Ultimately, Mascis, Barlow and Murph have pulled off a feat, they've reunited and actually recorded an album something that Boston contemporaries the Pixies have been promising since they played to incredibly strong crowds in 2005. The even bigger achievement is the fact that this album manages to recall all of the things that made Dinosaur Jr great without seeming like a tired rehash of the old stuff or like a sagging greatest misses collection.



The beauty of Beyond is that it ties together all of the sucesses and failures of previous albums and the benefits of the band being split for nearly twenty years. The guys have done a lot of growing up, and this is indicated best by the inclusion of two of Lou Barlow's songs, the tension between Mascis and Barlow is still there, but it makes for excellent music "Back To Your Heart" one of the tracks written by Barlow is possibly the best song on the album with its incessant wall of guitar fuzz and deliberate lyrical delivery. For Mascis' part there are some incredible highlight moments; "Pick Me Up" has one of the best guitar solos in recent memory, and since over half of the song is guitar solo it should be. This album collates the best parts of late eighties early nineties indie, the incidentally talented musicians who managed to make brilliant music despite their utter lack of ambition. This is a beautifully refreshing touch in a market that is too glutted with bands trying desperately to sound just like their forebears and still make a classic album, Beyond is classic because it has the inherent individuality and effortless cool that so many modern bands have to fight to capture.