Artist: Dinosaur Jr.
Album: Farm
Year: 2009
Grade: 3.5 pretzels
There have been several phases of Dinosaur Jr. throughout their career. The first and, by far, the best, was the original lineup of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and drummer Murph (yup, just Murph), which lasted until 1989. The second generation of Dinosaur Jr. was their ugliest, as Mascis hauled the band’s legendary name through the mud in the 90s, releasing forgettable albums at a terrifying rate. Finally, after a decade-long silence from the band, the original lineup resurfaced in 2007 with the surprisingly not-lame Beyond. Much to my amazement, that reunion is starting to seem more than temporary and Dinosaur Jr. have released their second album of this decade with all three key members present and accounted for.
The difference in quality between Dinosaur albums made with bassist Lou Barlow and those that were not is staggering. Barlow brings more to the table than his requisite handful of left-field songs. He somehow makes J Mascis focus on writing strong, emotional material instead of churning out a constant stream of semi-mindless guitar noodles. Powerful songs like “Pieces” and “Plans” simply wouldn’t have been present on older Dinosaur albums. Barlow’s own songs also balance Mascis’ irrepressible guitar-hero tendencies and Farm contains two of Barlow’s best, in the form of the crunchy “Your Weather” and the album’s growling closing song, “Imagination Blind”. Barlow may not write the majority of Dinosaur Jr.’s songs, but in many ways, he’s the lynchpin to their brilliance.
Not that J Mascis’ extraordinary talents should be ignored. Back in the 80s, he made guitar solos cool again for a generation raised on punk’s iconoclastic hatred for the bloated guitar rock of the 70s. Now, over twenty years down the line, he’s still doing the exact same thing. His gargantuan walls of distorted, fuzz-filled guitar are as powerful and as dense as ever. He also has the iconic Dinosaur Jr. voice, that weak, weary whine that works so damn well against strong power chords. His writing dominates the album and he turns in plenty of quality tunes, such as “I Want You To Know” and the sprawling “Said The People”. There’s no doubt that Mascis is the heart of Dinosaur Jr.; I don’t think anyone’s ever suggested otherwise.
Farm, on the whole, is a strong album, but it does have a handful of moments that just don’t work. The thing I miss the most on Farm is the reckless energy that characterized their previous albums. For all the blustery guitar, the album feels a bit safe, like an album full of rounded edges. Dinosaur’s great albums, like You’re Living All Over Me (1987) and Bug (1988) had this strong sense of desperation behind them and while the first reunion album, Beyond, hinted that the band may be rediscovering some of that energy, Farm feels like a step back. Songs like “Over It” and “See You” sound a bit shallow and flimsy. The band also runs into a problem with their song lengths. Dinosaur Jr. have always been a band that veers towards writing longer songs, but the three songs here that exceed six minutes are pushing it a bit too far. They could accomplish just as much in two-thirds of the time and, at a lengthy hour, Farm could use the editing. However, it’s still better than anything the band released in the 90s. I have no idea if this reunion will continue before Mascis and Barlow remember that they hate each other, but it’s been a pretty fun ride so far. Plus, the album has one of the most insane album covers of the year. It gets at least half-a-pretzel for that image alone.
The difference in quality between Dinosaur albums made with bassist Lou Barlow and those that were not is staggering. Barlow brings more to the table than his requisite handful of left-field songs. He somehow makes J Mascis focus on writing strong, emotional material instead of churning out a constant stream of semi-mindless guitar noodles. Powerful songs like “Pieces” and “Plans” simply wouldn’t have been present on older Dinosaur albums. Barlow’s own songs also balance Mascis’ irrepressible guitar-hero tendencies and Farm contains two of Barlow’s best, in the form of the crunchy “Your Weather” and the album’s growling closing song, “Imagination Blind”. Barlow may not write the majority of Dinosaur Jr.’s songs, but in many ways, he’s the lynchpin to their brilliance.
Not that J Mascis’ extraordinary talents should be ignored. Back in the 80s, he made guitar solos cool again for a generation raised on punk’s iconoclastic hatred for the bloated guitar rock of the 70s. Now, over twenty years down the line, he’s still doing the exact same thing. His gargantuan walls of distorted, fuzz-filled guitar are as powerful and as dense as ever. He also has the iconic Dinosaur Jr. voice, that weak, weary whine that works so damn well against strong power chords. His writing dominates the album and he turns in plenty of quality tunes, such as “I Want You To Know” and the sprawling “Said The People”. There’s no doubt that Mascis is the heart of Dinosaur Jr.; I don’t think anyone’s ever suggested otherwise.
Farm, on the whole, is a strong album, but it does have a handful of moments that just don’t work. The thing I miss the most on Farm is the reckless energy that characterized their previous albums. For all the blustery guitar, the album feels a bit safe, like an album full of rounded edges. Dinosaur’s great albums, like You’re Living All Over Me (1987) and Bug (1988) had this strong sense of desperation behind them and while the first reunion album, Beyond, hinted that the band may be rediscovering some of that energy, Farm feels like a step back. Songs like “Over It” and “See You” sound a bit shallow and flimsy. The band also runs into a problem with their song lengths. Dinosaur Jr. have always been a band that veers towards writing longer songs, but the three songs here that exceed six minutes are pushing it a bit too far. They could accomplish just as much in two-thirds of the time and, at a lengthy hour, Farm could use the editing. However, it’s still better than anything the band released in the 90s. I have no idea if this reunion will continue before Mascis and Barlow remember that they hate each other, but it’s been a pretty fun ride so far. Plus, the album has one of the most insane album covers of the year. It gets at least half-a-pretzel for that image alone.
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