It has been now over four decades that we have been getting that incredible combination of guitar-dominated noise, melody and often left-field lyrics from Dinosaur Jr. There were break ups and pick ups, perfect sounds and those close but not quite perfect ones across the 13 albums to date – including There Near, the latest.
Sure, J. Mascis was always there, with his inimitable guitar sound (many have tried, but his sound remains his), and those vocals some call slacking. Yet, from the early days when the core trio that included (and now and again, still does) Lou Barlow and Murph and had to change the band’s name adding that Jr. tag, up to the trio starting over together now for the third time, it was and still is that one key term comes to mind for this combination – synergy.
And here is where that dictionary definition of this term comes in the full sense of its meaning: “the combined power or effect of two or more elements, groups, or substances working together that is greater than the sum of their individual effects.” Why?
Well, because no matter how towering J. Mascis’ personality is, from the early days and the absolute classics that their 1988 Bug album and its opener “Freak Scene”, to There Near, and its almost immaculate 11 songs are, that greatness has always been at its fullest when it is Mascis, Barlow and Murph doing it.
And it is all here on There Near, from the moment “Several Got Away” barges in – that loud, brash, but utterly melodic, guitar-dominated sound, with no intention of giving up or going away. As the album progresses, you don’t get the notion that either the energy or synergy level will go away.
At the same time, you get the sense that Mascis’ and Barlow’s songwriting keeps growing by keeping its constant characteristics while adding subtle details that simply enriches it, like the dual vocals on “No Friends”, or the ferocious touch added to the guitar sound on “Take Me With You”. It also seems that the band have decided to record the vocals just a tad more upfront that previously, giving the whole sound yet another touch that works.
With more upfront vocals you can hear the lyrics more clearly, even with the guitars blasting along, and they still have that opaque touch quite a few critics have been talking about all along. Mascis expains: “I’m not always sure what a song is ‘about’ when I’m writing it. I guess the meaning will present itself at some point. I’ll use whatever words work. And a lot of it will be influenced by whatever esoteric mumbo jumbo I’m reading at the time.”
Whatever the case is with lyrics, it all simply works as they fit into the Dinosaur Jr. sound like a very loud silk glove, putting There Near among some of the best albums they have recorded so far.
