Dinosaur Jr. present “Blowin’ Up,” the second single from their forthcoming album, There Near, out August 28th via Jagjaguwar. Following lead single “Several Got Away,” which FLOOD calls “ a hard-charging, punk-leaning anthem full of scratchy guitars and yearning,” “Blowin’ Up” is one of two tunes on There Near penned by Lou Barlow. The track may have less frenzied musical settings, but the lyrics sound like pointed and timely attacks on our current regime. As is so often the case, Lou’s melodic constructions have a friendly mien, but his lyrics cut like knives.
There Near marks the sixth studio album Dinosaur Jr. have recorded in the 20 years since their triumphal rebirth. There have been several live and/or closet cleaning collections to keep us punters sated for the five years since Sweep It Into Space, but there is nothing quite like having a full slab of new Dino tunes to fry your ears. And There Near has all knobs set to Extra Crispy.
Created in short, intense bursts over the course of a year at Amherst’s Bisquiteen Studio, There Near was recorded almost entirely by Dino’s core trio—king of the thunder tubs, Murph, human tornado Lou on bass/vocals and the inimitable J Mascis on guitar/vocals— with a bit of piano and organ work by local master musician, Ken Mauri. And the album roars from start to finish.
J’s guitar tone throughout There Near is even more animalistic than usual, perhaps owing partly to the fact he’s playing through a recently acquired 70’s Mesa Boogie MK 1 amp. “I bought the same amp that Chris Dixon had when we made our first album,” J says. “Chris recorded us at his house with his amp. It has a real interesting sound I haven’t gotten for a while. And it’s something I was trying to get back to on this album. The Stones started using Mesa Boogies in the ’70s after they heard Santana playing through them. Then The Clash copied The Stones, etc. As the years went on into the MK 2 and so on, the Boogie got more metal sounding. But the MK 1 has a souped-up Fender sound. You always hear how Rick Rubin always makes bands he’s producing sit down and listen to their first album and say let’s get back to that sound. So I just gave myself his advice.”
There Near continues Dinosaur Jr.’s string of classic albums. The new songs are sure to sound amazing with their monstrous riffs blaring from live stages amidst their historical brethren. Can’t wait to catch them live, but in the meantime, There Near will be a constant companion. The nearer the better.