Sep. 19, 2012 - Issue #883: Best of Edmonton 2012
I Bet on Sky
Dinosaur Jr {recordings_bands_mg} I Bet on Sky {/recordings_bands_mg}
Jagjaguwar,
3
When Dinosaur Jr first came out of hiatus, it was with a roar. Beyond, the band's 2007 return album, let track one ("Almost Ready") explode out of speakers with a lengthy guitar solo as the first sound the band had released in almost a decade. It unapologetically sounded like 1996, but vitally 1996, a return to form rather than a wistful look back to a youthful heyday. It was fucking awesome.The band's reunion has gained traction—now three albums of new material, plus a solo album from frontman J Mascis—precisely because, despite still peddling in the sounds of '90s alt rock, it rarely feels like a tired nostalgic retread for a paycheque. Dinosaur Jr's adept at taking an old sound and playing it like it was exciting and brand new: coming from a trio of aging '90s throwbacks, returning with the exact same sort of scorching guitar rock they traded in during their heyday, Beyond still seemed lively and relevant, joyous and vivid rock from a band still capable of doing that one thing do very well. Farm (2009) followed, and kept up the pace. Maybe it wasn't modern-sounding, but it wasn't museum piece either.
But I Bet on Sky marks the first time since reuniting that Dinosaur Jr opens an album sounding a little lost: the first third of it seems to wander in sedation. The synth-swell undercurrent of opener "Don't Pretend You Didn't Know" sets a gorgeous, urgent mood, and then simply lingers there for five minutes. "Watch the Corners" has more crunch, but a stale energy persists until the solo (almost always a moment of grace with this band). Overall, the tone feels more sedated, more introspective than loud, like head Dino J Mascis's solo album was last year.
That in and of itself doesn't make it a slog by any means—Mascis has always sounded at least half asleep anyways—but the cloud of weariness doesn't sell the usual elements quite like they've come through in the past few albums.
And then I Bet on Sky picks up. "Rude," sung by bassist Lou Barlow, is the mid-album highlight: a rock song with gravity to its groove, it rides rhythm with a much-needed force that seems to energize the band. From there onward, the band suddenly seems enlivened: the wah-wah strums of "I Know It Oh So Well" make for a vigorous rocker; "Pierce the Morning Rain," where the album title is lifted from, features one of the record's best solos and even the downtrodden vibe of "What Was That" has more punch to it than the album's earlier moments.
So, aside from a few missteps, Dinosaur Jr still seems like a band to bet on. Having stretched one sound out for so long, it's impressive the group can still conjure the vitality out of it that it does, even if it's not sustainable, as it once was, to an album's length. vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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