Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond

The new Dinosaur Jr. CD is a total throwback… THROWBACK TO AWESOMENESS!!!! Yes, Dinosaur Jr. is releasing their first album in 10 years, and their first album with all the original members since 1988. With their egos in check and dollar signs in their eyes, J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph have decided to let bygones be bygones and have joined together to release the wonderful album “Beyond.” There are no real surprises here, other than the fact that they still sound great. The songs are very distinctly Dino-like, with hooks and deafening loudness still being the main ingredients. J. Mascis’ insanely unfathomable guitar playing is the highlight of the album for me, allowing even the most mediocre of songs to rise to unparalleled heights. The first single, “Almost Ready,” sounds like classic DJ, the electric guitar immediately commanding your attention, and, although sounding vaguely familiar, catchy nonetheless. “Pick Me Up” is their epic track this time around, with another wicked guitar crunchy solo towards the end. “Been There All The Time” is another single from the album, and it relies on the stop-start pattern that the band had mastered back in their heyday. There are also a couple of Barlow tracks, and they’re good but basically forgettable when listened to within the context of the raunchy Mascis songs.

The album is officially released on May 1. They play The Phoenix on June 8^th, 2007.

Download:
Almost Ready mp3

Dinosaur Jr. on myspace.
Purchase the CD “Beyond” over at Fat Possum Records.

Kaspar Hauser - Quixotic / Taxidermy

Kaspar Hauser is basically a musical project ring-led by midwesterner Thomas Comerford, who had played in several bands in the past. “Quixotic / Taxidermy” is his 2^nd full-length, and his 5^th release altogether. It is an extremely tight sounding album, with glimpses of Jay Farrar, Neil Young and J. Mascis throughout. The liner notes recommend that you play it loud, and that’s excellent advice because this album is chock full of rip-snorting rock and roll. The album kicks off with “Fossil,” a Rolling Stones style riff that attacks the listener right away, and pins him to the ground to make sure he keeps listening. “King Pop” introduces some slightly new-wavy keys and handclaps, but it still manages to have an alt-country bite to it that sounds out of this world, along with lyrics of one who would “trade his kingdom for a song.” Which is what pure country is all about, isn’t it? Comerford also shows that he is willing to take risks, especially by successfully covering Big Star’s “Holocaust,” not one of their easier tunes to cover. My personal favourite song is “Mercury”, a hooky tour de force full of passionate harmonies. Actually, my other favourite song is the excellently titled “Roar or R.I.P.” which reminds me a lot of the aforementioned Farrar, with a real cool sounding honky-tonk piano backing up this fanatical rocker. In fact, the best moment of the whole album is at about 1:51 into that song, the part where a highly infectious bridge leads into the climactic dénouement, the music stops … briefly … drum roll … explosive ending!!! Awesome!

Downloads:
Fossil mp3
King Pop mp3
Without A Word mp3

Visit the Kaspar Hauser myspace page.
Purchase “Quixotic / Taxidermy” here.