Dinosaur Jr: Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not (Jagjaguwar)

 |   |  1 min read

Dinosaur Jr: Lost All Day
Dinosaur Jr: Give A Glimpse of What Yer Not (Jagjaguwar)

Any band which refined and defined their sound and attitude over three decades ago is bound to have hit a burn-out/overly familiar factor some many years ago.

Surely? 

But . . .

Although Elsewhere has just written a retrospective piece about this musical idea (as much as a band) helmed by J. Mascis, we have to concede this new one sounds as thrillingly noisy, focused and as concisely realised as anything in that vast back-catalogue.

And from the start -- the stuttering guitar rock of the openers Goin Down and Tiny which nod  as much towards AC/DC fans as it does post-grunge rock'n'roll noise --  this one fairly flies out of the cabinets.

Yes, there is the frisson of the familiar alongside the firepower.

But here Mascis and longtime pal-cum-adversary Lou Barlow rack up a bruisingly addictive 45 minutes of raucous pop'n'roll.

These people understand verse-chours/verse-chorus + distortion + volume as much as they do their longtime take on a wired-up version of country-rock (Be A Part) and jangle-pop hot-wired into the overloaded grid (I Told Everyone).

There are breathing spaces amongst the widescreen sonics (Love Is and Left/Right are Barlow's REM-like folk-rock given a nudge into Dino.Cinerama) . . . but the real action happens when this is wound up and wired.

Dinosaur Jr have been a longtime Elsewhere rowdy but melodic pleasure, and this one vindicates that loyalty.

Highly recommended  . . . if you have a decent threshold for pop-rock noise at great volume.

Start with posted track, it's Merseybeat pop with Mascis' skew.

Lovin' this one loud.

And most often louderer. 

Dinosaur Jr is our New Favourite Band.

Again. 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Lucinda Chua, Antidotes (4AD/digital outlets)

Lucinda Chua, Antidotes (4AD/digital outlets)

The lines between ambient and contemporary classical music are very blurred here – the album being her two EPs combined – by this cellist and singer-songwriter from London who presents... > Read more

John Mellencamp: Freedom's Road (Universal)

John Mellencamp: Freedom's Road (Universal)

If this guy hadn't been such a dickhead when he was John Cougar in the early 80s, or so arrogant when he became John Cougar Mellencamp we'd probably be falling all over him now as one of the... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

B.B. King: Makin' Love is Good For You (SBird/Southbound)

B.B. King: Makin' Love is Good For You (SBird/Southbound)

With the great B.B. King due to arrive in Australasia for concerts, this now-readily available album from 2000 is timely. It caught him on a career high with his road-tested band in the studio just... > Read more

LIFE UNDER CANVAS: Squatting in our own home

LIFE UNDER CANVAS: Squatting in our own home

Just before Christmas 2005, we fell victim to the pandemic sweeping across Auckland. You know how it is: you always think it’ll affect someone else and you’ll be okay. So we were... > Read more