Beyond

Performer: Dinosaur Jr.
Engineer: Justin Pizzoferrato; John Agnello; Justin
Producer: J Mascis; J Mercis
Distributor: RED Distribution

Notes: Composer: J Mercis. Audio Mixer: John Agnello. Recording information: Bisquiteen, Amherst, MA (2006). Photographer: Philipp Virus. As one of the seminal college-rock bands of the late '80s/early '90s, Dinosaur Jr. definitively bridged the gap between the musical mindsets of '80s "alternative" and '90s "indie." Along the way, they influenced scads of young slackers wielding fuzzy guitars and moldy Neil Young albums. The recordings around which the band's legend largely revolves (GREEN MIND, YOU'RE LIVING ALL OVER ME, BUG) epitomized the slacker-rock aesthetic through J. Mascis's laid-back drawl and the band's Crazy Horse-meets-Replacements attack. After bassist Lou Barlow split for Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr. attained more commercial success before falling apart, the final album popping out in 1997. A decade later, Mascis and Barlow reunited for a tour that led to the recording of BEYOND. While the post-Barlow Dinosaur albums found Mascis pushing the edges of the group's original stylistic template, BEYOND is a resounding return to form. The crunching guitars and whomping rhythm section move as one, hammering out simple, forceful riffs and rhythms that evoke the band's glory days. The proceedings are invested with so much energy that even the notoriously laconic-sounding Mascis sounds hopped up on the excitement of rediscovery the magic and electricity that made Dinosaur Jr. special from the beginning.

Spin (p.85) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "From the swirling haze of 'Almost Ready' to the electrocuted folk of 'Lightning Bulb,' even the production of BEYOND sounds plucked from the trio's BUG heyday." Entertainment Weekly (p.68) - "[With] J Mascis' guitar as blistering as ever and the group's considerable energy undiminished." -- Grade: B+ Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Given that the core Dino signature has seeped into alt-rock's basic vocabulary, this exercise feels inimitable rather than dated..."

Formed in Amherst, Massachusetts during the mid-1980s, Dinosaur Jr. crafted punky, ramshackle songs that featured J. Mascis' sleepy vocals and meandering, feedback-drenched guitars. After a series of well received indie releases, culminating with 1988's BUG, bassist Lou Barlow departed to form Sebadoh, and the band (Mascis and drummer Murph) signed with a major label. In 1991, the group released their masterpiece, GREEN MIND, an album that displayed a poppier, dreamier sound. However, Dinosaur Jr. was essentially a Mascis solo project by this point, and although Murph and other musicians appeared on subsequent albums, Dino Jr. remained a Mascis-driven vehicle until he officially went solo in the late '90s.

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