Dinosaur Jr.’s Farm opens with a song called “Pieces” and it’s all too appropriate. The album is split up into several pieces (duh), they just all sound the same.
After a long hiatus, the 80s/90s alternative group is back with their second comeback album. They say with age comes experience and musical maturity and these hold true for DJ – Farm is well-written and tight. But these things and age alone can’t make a good record great.
The sound on Farm is definitely fresh. It hearkens back to classic alternative music of the 90s but brings a new edge to it. It’s almost like an indie band of today traveled back in time and lay down a recording. Structurally, the songs are what you might find in your basic classic rock. There are guitar solos and verses/choruses/verses pretty much throughout with your simple three-piece band.
Although the unique sound is a nice welcome, Farm‘s greatest flaw is that it all sounds the same. Taken individually, the songs are wonderful. Tracks like “I Want You To Know” and “Plans” invoke a sort of sad indifference that just screams 1992. The difference is in the sharpness of the musicianship. Long gone is the sloppiness and angst, but what hangs around on Farm are those same old vocals, and that same old music.
Listening to the album, I get lost in the sound and sort of forget it’s a collection. Is this a bad thing? Maybe not. It’s easy to make boring elevator music and it’s rare to find an album that holds your attention through every track. What DJ has done is something in between, they’ve created an album that is in pieces, as any album is, but these pieces are all part of the same sound. The album might be worth picking up just to hear something different, but next time I’d like some diversity you guys.
Dinosaur Jr. – “I Want You To Know” [MP3]
Dinosaur Jr. – “Pieces” [MP3]
Dinosaur Jr. – “Plans” [MP3]
I hate Dinosaur Jr., HATE!