Mirror Ball Rising

A long time ago in a town not so far away (I , in fact, will be in Richmond this weekend for my brother's annual birthday drunkfest) there lived two brothers. Now individually, these two boys were pithy, angsty, brilliant, acerbic, stupid, charming, gassy drunks that could lay a dark wet blanket over almost any affair that you could imagine. With their Wonder Twin powers activated, however, they were the most formidable perpetual sarcasm machine that the world has ever known. The catalyst for activation was music and that music could be many things but at root, a lot of it sounded like Neil Young. Now the Church of Neil has many followers, among them Jay Farrar, Matthew Sweet, and Jason Molina. No disciple, however, has ever brought forth the fury with both voice and guitar like the fury wrought by J. Mascis.

Mascis has been on my radar ever since he formed a rockin' lil' combo called Dinosaur Jr. Now without rehashing a bunch of history which you can read by clicking that link up there... Dinosaur Jr., like The Cure (who Dino Jr. covered once), has often been a J. Mascis vanity project with revolving members. That said, they have never been as strong as they were in their initial configuration of J., Lou Barlow and Murph. In 2005, one of the most unlikely reunions this side of Bob Stinson's resurrection occurred and that original lineup reunited and recorded a record, Beyond which was released in 2007. The record was well received as was the accompanying tour (or so I hear, I never leave the house).

Now, in 2009, a sophomore effort has been released and my expectations were somewhat low. Beyond was good, but it never struck me like I had hoped that it would so I awaited the latest, Farm, with little excitement but some anticipation. That, my two readers, was a mistake.

Farm begins with what has become my anthem of the summer, "Pieces". Mascis' guitar line is melodic and gritty; and his voice, as always, is thin but unwavering. The song, seemingly about J.'s never ending heartbreak, is just the beginning of what is possibly my favorite DJ record ever. Farm is a return to the heavier sound of early DJ with a solid nod to the melodicism of later albums. The record is anchored by three longer songs while surrounded with shorter more playful pieces. Two Barlow compositions adorn the record and while dissimilar given the differing voices and writing styles of the two songwriters, they fit nicely into the mix of Farm.

Nerdspeak aside, the record rocks from beginning to end. I haven't really felt a "soundtrack of the summer" vibe from a record in a long time. You know those records, the ones that you can't stop listening to during the hot, long summers. A few of mine have included Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted, Neil Young's Mirror Ball, and (though it was released in January of 1985), New Day Rising by Husker Du. This is the first one that has hit me that way in a while.

Grab a pal, crack a cold one and throw yourself the only listening party you're gonna need this summer.

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm - A-