Whatever Has Never Been Cooler With J

This has been a great week to be a Dinosaur Jr fan in Toronto. The terrible tripedal lizard of indie rock just finished a 3-night residency at Lee’s Palace opening their tour in support of their 3rd break-up sex LP I Bet On Sky released last week. Rule of 3’s, get it?! Though my ears are ringing from last night’s banging finale show, I am most motivated to write about this fantastic new record.

God must have hated sharing cover space
 with an article about the Butthole Surfers 

Clear of ear from his stellar solo acoustic album last year, I Bet On Sky finds guitar hero J Mascis's key weapon set on stun and maybe even tickle, and not dead shred. While his signature sound is incendiary (Almost Famous!), some my all-time favourite J guitar performances are the kind he could probably peel off while brushing his teeth. For a six string god (thanks, Spin Magazine see right) his might lies in the ability to elevate the emotion of his songs and reveal much more of himself through his hands than in his lyrics. J's not a man known to waste (or even use) words & has long been reluctant to discuss his lyrical content. An original slacker, as a rock n roll persona, J Mascis is the mumbled ‘I guess so’ to Noel Gallagher's needy ‘d’yaknow what i mean?’ & his reanimated band is the perfect vehicle.

Artist Travis Millard beautifully
captures the mind-blowing Dinosaur Jr 

Throughout much of the superb I Bet On Sky, J is (in the Heathers spirit) fucking us gently with a chainsaw. And it feels great. For a band not famous for subtlety (ears still ringing), the band’s palette has widened here to include medium overdrive. Captured again by long-time J collaborator/producer/engineer John Agnello, this is the most comfortable sounding recording of Dinosaur Jr’s career. There's a glowy burn to songs like "Stick A Toe In", with its chopsticking piano and pinky volume swells leading to a brief bright burst of a solo outro, and the hypnotic but uptempo "Don't Pretend You Didn't Know", with its guiding synths and piano flourishes. The familiar thunderbolt is thankfully not entirely absent from Sky: the awesome tumbling thud of brick hit-house drummer Murf and Barlow's heavy handed bass playing seizes aptly named "Pierce The Morning Rain" and giddy wah wah shuffler "I Know It Oh So Well", with its loose stops and starts and cowbell groove is terrific. Even Lou Barlow's drop D personality can't  harshen the buzz of Sky: his punky "Rude" sounds like a Bakesale-era Sebadoh song played with a better band (twin guitar solo!) and the melodic metal of "Recognition" is too nimbly and expertly played to be considered sludgy. This new age dinosaur has gone all omnivore on us. They’ve expanded the power trio format from full-stomp to full-service most impressively. The true showstopper of this new set is the superb "Watch The Corners". All of the key Dinosaur elements old & new are on display - the easy melody sneaks up on you while the band revs up - Murf's drums and Lou's bass becoming more insistent through each repetition, setting up an acoustic break and one of J's best moments on the album - a soaring, cathartic solo. It’s dramatic stuff and it sweeps my leg every time. And I can drink to that.