Dinosaur Jr – Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not – Album Review by Killian Laher

The reunion of Dinosaur Jr ten years ago has, contrary to expectations, revitalised, energised and stabilised the band. This is the fourth album since the reformation and it might be the most vital sounding yet. It opens with a bang with ballsy rocker Goin’ Down, a seemingly simple yet hard hitting track, J Mascis delivers a downright savage riff like his life depends on it. Tiny follows this up, hitting nearly as hard as its predecessor, a great big, fun, hard rocker.

For long-term fans of Dinosaur Jr there is much to enjoy here. Swaying, breezy rockers Be A Part, I Told Everyone and Lost All Day take the intensity down a notch or two, settling into the band’s default pattern of feel good Crazy Horse style rockers. Lou Barlow gets his customary pair of songs, and the first of these, heady strum Love Is, is a bit of a departure for the band. It’s cut out of late 60s/70s Californian folk rock and it suits Barlow well. Both this and Left/Right are graced by fine solos from Mascis, not only fine solos but they actually feel like they belong there.

Good To Know recaptures the heads down hard-rocking feel of the opening two tracks, but they show they haven’t lost the ability to surprise with I Walk for Miles. It’s unlike anything previously heard by the band, going full on Black Sabbath with an absolutely massive downtuned stoner riff powering the song along.

At this stage Dinosaur Jr know how to do what they do really well, and post-reformation have developed a habit of turning in really consist albums. Long may they rock.

Track List:

1. Goin’ Down
2. Tiny
3. Be A Part
4. I Told Everyone
5. Love Is…
6. Good To Know
7. I Walk For Miles
8. Lost All Day
9. Knocked Around
10. Mirror
11. Left/Right

Tiny: