Nearly halfway thru their 12th album, Sweep It Into Space, Massachusetts rockers Dinosaur Jr. sing, "It takes time living on a razor blade/to know the way - don't make it harder." It feels like a life lesson from a band on their second go round in a nearly 40-year career. Dinosaur Jr. is a band that has always been able to ride that line between sweet and sour - teenage ennui and mid-life crisis - with shredding guitar solos, of course.

With a little help from Kurt Vile co-producing, Dinosaur Jr. is hitting their stride with a wonderfully balanced album. Since their reunion in 2005, the band has released five albums, and this feels like it could fit in with some of their earliest work. It's a deft example of the band at their best; J Mascis warbling his way thru lyrics that relate as much to dad rock as college rock and high school emo, Lou Barlow's clear declarations, softer melodies revving up to face-melting solos, and Murph holding down the beats.

The recording for Sweep It Into Space started before the pandemic and quarantine, but the band didn't want to stop and continued to bubble up together to make sure they stayed in the same room. That communion makes for a cohesive and melodic album that is catchy and thoughtful.

External Link

Dinosaur Jr. - official site