Album Review: Dinosaur Jr. – Sweep It Into Space

Let me tell you how much I love Dinosaur Jr. I have seen them perform live about 5 or 6 times, met them, and have had them not laugh at my jokes. They are the loudest band I have ever heard, and are even my mother’s favorite band. J Mascis performs some of the most thoroughly electric guitar solos through three Marshall amplifier stacks and a plethora of effects. The bassist, Lou Barlow, literally shakes the floor with a beautiful totem of amps to match J’s volume. Murph drums with such conviction and I’m here for it concretely. In the late 80’s they had no peers. They have inspired the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Husker Dü, and countless other bands. Dinosaur Jr.’s new album, “Sweep It Into Space” is a testament to the aforementioned claims, and overall, an enjoyable listen. Here are some song reviews:

Right away into the first song, “I Aint”, the listener is taken back into a most familiar territory; the drums that sound like waves, and a guitar so doused in effects, one can feel the texture of the frequencies outside of the ear, and deep basslines that pull up the heavy heart. “I Ain’t Good Alone” as I interpret it, is a song about two people trying to stay in some sort of relationship. Although it’s hard, they try because they both think that “it’s too late to truly make it alone”.

Jumping into the second track, “I Met the Stones”, starts with a hard retro metal type beat. Quickly enough, more flavor gets thrown in the pot with variations of Dinosaur Jr.’s warm chord progressions accompanied by melodic backup singing! As with many Dino Jr. songs, the guitar solo stands strong on this one. The song culminates in a head-banging beat, featuring a crunchy, yet sweet and tangy solo. All of this accompanies lyrics that take us on a sci-fi adventure.

The sixth track, “Hide Another Round”, is a stand-out song from the album. The guitar texture feels like old carpet and thick cardboard. It lives, it scratches, and yet, has a therapeutic feeling to it. The bass sounds extra bouncy, but it only serves to benefit the buoyancy of the track. This song is a fast and fun submarine beach adventure. Imagine you are in a submarine right? Now imagine that submarine is going pretty fast, and the ocean is pretty, and that your best friend is an octopus and he’s using his specially derived chromatophores to color himself the color palette of the album artwork.

 

Dinosaur Jr. has stayed relevant in alternative music since 1984, and with this gem of an album added to their repertoire, it seems that these alt-rock dads have no intention of slowing down. They are the loudest band with a plethora of juicy songs to lull the listener into fuzzy trances of enjoyment. I implore the reader to check out this record and to check out the Dinosaur Jr. Tour dates at dinosaurjr.com!