Dinosaur Jr. "Beyond" (Fat Possum)
By Jeff Dean
Wednesday. May 16, 10:37 AM
The originals don't let you down.

Here it is! The record that every Dinosaur Jr. fan always hoped for but was afraid of. The original line-up is back after almost 20 years to bring us what should have been the record they made after the landmark Bug. So… where do you begin? A diehard fan like me has to eliminate all of the expectation that I have built up in my head. I mean, fuck! This band changed my life. I really don’t know how else to put it. And while I am a fan of all of their records, I always felt that everything was in a slow downward progression after the departure of Lou Barlow in 1989. I always had hoped that they would reconcile and put out a new record. Cuz no matter how much I liked their later releases, Dinosaur Jr. will always be J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. That is just the way it is.

Ok… so, Beyond. Original line-up, every fans’ dream. I had to get my head straight, because my expectations were so high that there was no way they were going to be able to live up to it. I wasn’t blown away by any means, but it is really good. I’ve listened to this record like 20 times, and I still like it! All the classic elements are here: driving guitars, loud and distorted bass, and pummeling drums, but the song are a bit more melodic than I expected. This isn’t bad, but I was hoping for a little more aggression from the powerhouse. But this is where we have to go back to having high expectations. There was no way this was going to live up to my personal ones. That’s okay though, I’m not let down. Beyond sounds like the way Dinosaur Jr. would have if the original line-up had kept playing together. So I guess we should rejoice in the fact that Dinosaur Jr. are back!
www.dinosaurjr.com
www.fatpossum.com

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Jeff Dean

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