Beyond

Beyond

In their mid-80s heyday, Dinosaur Jr. were the loudest indie-rock trio on the circuit. To this day, guitarist J Mascis plays with a full-throttle attack that twists both guitar leads and his own vocals into elongated, exaggerated howls of existential pain. The trick is keeping it tuneful. Underneath the crusty guitar tones and the bludgeoning rhythmic attack are tunes suffused with ringing melodies and sorrowful odes to the loner lifestyle. Beyond is the original trio’s first album since 1988’s Bug and it picks up as if the past 19 years never passed. From the opening guitar notes of “Almost Ready” through the autumnal moans of “Crumble” and the happy bump of “We’re Not Alone,” Beyond slots in with You’re Living All Over Me and Bug as prime Dino Jr. Bassist Lou Barlow, who found his true authorial voice in Sebadoh, takes two songwriting credits, the soothing and lumbering “Back to Your Heart” and the similarly halting “Lightning Bulb,” tunes that feel as if he’s been reliving a particularly painful time. Which judging by all reports, Dino Jr. once was for its participants. They still manage to rescue great moments from wreckage.

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