Sometimes, as you get older, you get restless. You want to try new things. If what you're doing now isn't something you love or are passionate about, the rut and the sameness of it all can become too much. That's when people start exploring career changes and other experiences that can provide some fulfillment.
But there are a lucky few that find their niche. They become good at what they do. So good, in fact, that they have perfected the way they do it. I think of Mariano Rivera throwing the same pitch, time after time, and still baffling opposing hitters. Dinosaur Jr. have become like that. They have their thing. They've perfected it. They're into a phase now where they do it over and over again. And it's good.
I Bet on Sky is Dinosaur Jr.'s tenth studio album, the third following a decade-long break and featuring the reunited original line-up of J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. While it may have slightly more general appeal than its predecessors, Beyond and Farm, it is still a Dinosaur Jr. record. That means Mascis's almost mumbled, drawling vocals and ferocious guitar soloing. That means that you can always predict the places where the music will swell to a wave of noise as a song builds to the chorus.
The themes haven't changed much either. Loneliness is probably the overriding theme of almost all Dinosaur Jr. songs, and the collection on I Bet on Sky is no exception. Whether or not the word "alone" comes up explicitly in any given song, as it does on single "Watch the Corners," that feeling of being an outsider looking in is usually there. Even more upbeat-sounding tracks like "Almost Fare" and "I Know It Oh So Well" include lyrics like "Now, there she is. / What should I do? / What should I give?" or "I got home again. I watched you float away..." You can almost imagine a young J Mascis at home, alone in his room, with his collection of 1970's classic rock, 1980's hardcore, post-punk, and country records spread out on the floor with something spinning on the turntable, volume set to 11.
I Bet on Sky, like Beyond and Farm, also includes two contributions from Lou Barlow, "Rude" and "Recognition." These are nice to hear, especially since I've recently reacquainted myself with Barlow's songwriting through his non-Dinosaur Jr. Sentridoh and Sebadoh projects. Both are bouncier indie pop. They feature Barlow's much more conventionally "good" voice along with the embellishments of the big Dinosaur Jr. sound and some Mascis soloing.
I guess not everything has stayed exactly the same. Dinosaur Jr. are sounding ever so slightly more commercial than they have in a while, kind of like they did on (the Barlow-less) classics Green Mind and Where You Been? One or two of the songs may actually be kind of funky sounding. Really, what we've got here, though, is a band doing what it's always done and doing it well. It really takes a special talent to throw just one pitch and remain so dangerous. Dinosaur Jr. definitely have it.
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