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Record Review - Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm

Remember when the term "alternative" actually meant something in pop music? Before it was the blanket term used to describe 70% of the music on the racks at The Wall, "alternative" was exactly that: a drastic and noticeable alternative to what had become established in the worlds or rock and pop, namely big hair, big egos, big style, and superficial substance. Dinosaur Jr. remember all too well, as they were one of the most critically-acclaimed bands of the proper alternative movement. When J Mascis reunited with Lou Barlow and Murph in 2005, it seemed too sweet to be real.

Unlike the Pixies reunion of the same time, though, which only resulted in sold-out stadium shows and a documentary of their awkwardness, Dinosaur Jr.'s reunion brought about possibly the best work of their career. 2007's Beyond was universally praised as a hugely pleasing nugget of euphony. And now, their second post-reunion album, Farm, is even bigger and better than anyone could have expected from these admittedly aging rockers. Enough with the vague praise, let me just say that Farm is fantastic.

The opening bars of "Pieces" will instantly transport the listener to the very best guitar-centric rock music America had to offer in the 1990s and the rest of Farm from that point on will keep you steadily locked in a state of "alternative." Perhaps most telling, though, of Dinosaur Jr.'s return to force with this album is that its catchiest, most single-worthy track, "I Don't Wanna Go There" is a nearly nine-minute long thrash epic, with more than half of that time being comprised of one massive unapologetic guitar solo, as if Mascis were looking right at FM radio and music television and saying "you can't have this."