Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky LP

Description

Now thatDinosaur Jr. is an actual working band and not a one-off reunion, they can settle into the business of being a band: touring regularly and cutting records where they subtly push at the boundaries of what defines the band’s sound, as they do on 2012’sI Bet On Sky. By some measures, the quietest record of their new millennium reunion,I Bet On Skyrarely roars with abandon — oddly, it’sLou Barlowwho brings the noise with the appropriately named “Rude” and “Recognition,” butJ Mascisdoes kick in the glorious breakneck rocker “Pierce the Morning Rain” — with the band indulging in different textures and tempos, opening up their music in a way the concentratedFarmdidn’t quite manage. This shift is evident from the start, when “Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know” glides by on the back of an eerie analog synth line before surging into a chorus graced with piano, signaling that this is theDinosaur Jr. with the most sonic color sinceGreen Mind. Pianos pop back up on “Stick a Toe In,” the band almost works out a heated groove on “I Know It Oh So Well” then lies back on “Almost Fare,” finding space for the exploded pop of “What Was That,” crunching power chords of “Watch the Corners,” and closing off the proceedings with the mini-epic “Set It On Your Side.” As always withDinosaur Jr., underneath all that sound lie some sturdy bones, songs constructed with expert, unassuming craftsmanship and a sly wit, but it’s the variety and adventure that makesI Bet On Skysomething more than another excellentDinosaurrecord. -All Music Guide