Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

For the uninitiated, here is a brief history of the band.

Mark I (1984 - 1989)
The members of the band grew up in western Massachusetts.  When they were in high school, J Mascis and Lou Barlow played in a hardcore band called Deep Wound (Lou on guitar, J on drums).  They recorded some songs and then they decided to form a new band.

They found a dude named The Murph and asked him to play drums.  Lou switched to bass.  J decided to learn how to play guitar. They originally called themselves Dinosaur.  Then some old hippie threatened to sue them because he had copyrighted that name, so they appended "Jr" to the alias.

Dinosaur Jr played wicked loud so they had trouble finding a following in the Pioneer Valley and Boston.  After venturing west to New York, they found modest success playing in New York City.  Soon they were playing shows in the UK and were signed to SST records.  SST was the record label run by Greg Ginn, the guitar player from Black Flag. Other bands on SST included Black Flag, Husker Du, the Minutemen, Soundgarden, the Butthole Surfers, Kyle Wombat, the Meat Puppets, and Sonic Youth.

Dinosaur Jr toured with some of these bands and recorded a few albums.  The last album by this lineup was called "Bug".  Sometime in 1989 Lou Barlow was ousted from the band.  According to local legend, Mascis clubbed Barlow over the head with a guitar onstage during a set (or maybe it was just a fistfight).  Shortly after this alleged incident, Barlow was no longer invited to band practice and was replaced by a tall Nordic fellow named Mike Johnson.

Mark II (1990 - 1997)
In 1990 the band was signed to major label Sire Records and released "Green Mind" in 1991.  Their music videos became staples on MTV's late night video show called 120 minutes.  In 1993 they released "Where You Been" and were one of the featured bands on the third Lollapalooza tour.

In the studio, Dinosaur Jr had become a Mascis solo project, where he wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments.  The Murph left the band during this era and Mascis retired the name in 1997 to pursue a solo career.

Mark III (2005 - present)
In 2005 Mascis, Barlow, and The Murph buried the hatchet and to this day have enjoyed one of the most successful band reunions of all time.  "Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not" is the fourth album they have released since reforming.

The album starts off with a punchy tune called "Going Down".  I never saw this title coming.  Some of their older tunes have titles like Going Home, Nothings Going On, Where Did You Go, I Don't Wanna Go There, etc.  Going Down is a certified classic.

"Tiny" is a song about dogs riding skateboards.  "Love Is" is a fantastic song sung by Lou Barlow.

"I Can See For Miles" is my favorite track on the album.  Modern doom bands are reknowned for droning two note riffs, and they all can stand to learn something from listening to this song.  The riffs in this song are tasty slabs of sludgey goodness, brought to you by the band that wrote "Sludgefeast" thirty years ago.  The drum breaks in this song are totally radical and the vocal delivery is perfect.  Excelsoir !

Dinosaur Jr live at the House of Blues in Boston 11/25/2016

Worshipper - Shadow Hymns

Fans of riff-based rock need pay attention because Worshipper has arrived with a large dose of heavy psychedelic rock.  In 2015 they were awarded the "Metal Artist Of The Year" at the Boston Music Awards.  In 2016 they were recognized again when they won the Rock 'n' Roll Rumble competition.  Not too shabby for a relatively new band.  They have built upon classic rock mores, constructing a fresh dual guitar attack against a backset of melodic doom.

Before playing with Worshipper, John Brookhouse and Alejandro Necochea were already reknowned as local guitar heroes.  It is difficult to point out a track where their leads really shine, because they are shredding all over the album.  Both guitarists play precision riffs while displaying Tiger-Claw technique on their guitar necks, methodically allowing quick successions of notes to rip through the mix.

The album kicks off with a barn burner called “High Above The Clouds”.   The song begins with the prophetic line “We reached the pyramids at dawn…".  This signals the beginning of their ascent.  This is when the session starts, the barometer spikes, the light sails into the stratosphere, and they don’t come down until the record is over.

"High Above the Clouds" and "Place Beyond the Light" (both released as singles last year) are modern rock anthems that I play on repeat when I'm drinking celebratory ales in my backyard.

"Ghosts and Breath" is based around a simple middle eastern tinged progression.  As the song progresses there is a sense of foreboding, the kind that occurs when someone suspects that they are in close proximity with an ominous presence.  "Darkness" is another spooky tune that appears to be written about an encounter with a succubus.

The acoustic passages and distinct tempo changes on songs like "Wolf Song" and "Darkness" are reminiscient of the Sabotage era, when Black Sabbath started becoming more progressive.  While the guitarists use a lot of mid-range voicings, Worshipper also employs a tube-heavy bottom end as part of their sound.  Bob Maloney's basslines shine through especially on songs like the aforementioned "Wolf Song".

The album closer is "Black Corridor", which is definitely one of their strongest songs.  The punishing drum style of Dave Jarvis is clearly evident on this track, driving hard on the toms and rolling along at a thunderous pace.  Word on the street is that he has been known to kick his foot through bass drum heads during their live shows.

Lest I forget, I must give a shout out to studio wizard Benny Grotto, who engineered and produced the album.  Musicians travel from around the world to record in Boston with this fellow for a reason.  The sound is tight, expansive, and ethereal.

Worshipper live at the 2016 Rock and Roll Rumble