Legendary Dino Jr. Release New Single
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When you’ve built a catalog and reputation as one of the most innovative rock bands of the past quarter-century, you know people will be chomping at the bit to hear your new material. Well, for you Dinosaur Jr. fans (yep, myself included), it was announced a few weeks back that they have a new album dropping in September called I Bet On Sky. This is the third album the band will be releasing since the original lineup reformed back in 2007.
It’s a rarity to hear a band regroup after more than a decade apart and not only sound great, but arguably better than when they called it quits. I can say without a smidge of BS that Dinosaur Jr. is indeed the exception to the rule. Guitar-god J Mascis shreds with a nastiness that I can’t remember hearing outside of a These Arms Are Snakes record, and his voice hasn’t sounded better.
While the announcement of the new album was exciting enough, the band has just released the first single from the album called “Watch the Corners.” The stop-start riff is a thing if simple beauty, and Mascis’ beaten-but-unbroken vocals left a heft to the song that feels authentic. Oh, and like all Dinosaur Jr. songs, there’s a killer guitar solo. For almost thirty years, somehow Mascis continues to come up with solos that sound like they break new ground while always remaining Mascis’ style.
The album I Bet On Sky will hit stores September 18th, 2012, and will continue to sport the same classic Dino line-up. Mascis discussed the album in some depth with Rolling Stone.
Said Mascis, “I guess on this record, I wasn’t as worried if we could play the songs live. [On] the other two records [2007's Beyond and 2009's Farm], I was thinking of it being more songs that we could play live and tour more.”
Mascis also promises some fuzzed-out ballads on this LP. If they’re anything like “Pick Me Up” off of Beyond, then the world of guitar fanatics is in for a feedback-laden treat.
So far, it’s already been a pretty interesting year for Mascis as he got his own bobble-head toy in 2012. The limited edition run of toys was covered by Bangstyle earlier, and it seems like it was a sign that the Massachusetts native is finally getting his due as one of the greatest guitarists of his generation. Sorry, Steve Vai.
You can check out “Watch the Corners” here.
