Listening to Dinosaur Jr is like warmly welcoming back an old friend you haven't seen for years.
The alt-rock trio, in their original line-up of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph, may have a more polished sound these days, but it's still very recognisable as the guitar-heavy Dinosaur Jr sound fans grew up with a quarter century ago.
Despite a mix of 70s classic rock guitar solos, late 80s skate punk and a fair smattering of 90s grunge distortion, the band still sound fresh and relevant, particularly when Barlow takes the reins on tracks Love Is ... and Left/Right, or when they channel Firehose or the Foos on tracks like Goin Down and Tiny. And even with a wall of sound punctuated by those uplifting Mascis solos, Dinosaur Jr have always been at the end of the day a chillout band - relaxation through reverberation.
Rating: 4/5 stars.
