Dinosaur Jr. You're Living All Over Me by: Tom Bradbury Tue:21-Aug-07 Label: SST Year: 1987 WB rating 86 out of 100

After a slight name change due to legal hassles with ageing hippies, Dinosaur Jr. (previously known just as Dinosaur) are back with their second album, You’re Living All Over Me. It’s a much more consistent record than their first, with the band beginning to find an overarching sound to suit their group dynamic. This album is dark, muddy, and completely out of step with all 1980s production wisdom (thank God) – and one that balances catchiness with noise.

Dinosaur Jr. may have stolen their chords from punk, but they are really far too lazy to sit well under that category. Somehow the band manages to produce a lot of energy while at the same time conveying an aura of disinterest – there is none of the anger that is punk’s modus operandi. The source of this peculiar dynamic can be found mainly in the persona of frontman, guitarist and main songwriter J Mascis. Mascis has a unique playing style that is somewhere in-between Jimmy Page and Ron Asheton – there is a disguised complexity within his simplistic style. On ‘Kracked’, Mascis’s takes a typical Asheton wah-wah solo (recalling ‘1969’), but applies to it a certain casual dexterity that is all his own. The end result is primal, but also deceptively sophisticated.

Mascis has matured vocally since Dinosaur Jr.’s self titled debut. On You’re Living All Over Me, his voice recalls Ozzy Osbourne - on less drugs, with the same paranoia, but also a heavier dose of irony and a healthy education in country music. Much like his guitar style, Mascis has a melodic sensibility that flies underneath the radar - effective but very unassuming. Take album opener, ‘Little Furry Things’. It almost sounds like he is falling asleep as he sings, “Then she runs away from me, faster than I crawl”, but somehow the words still find away into your head – even if he seems to be barely aware of them leaving his.

Yet for all Dinosaur Jr.’s nonchalance, they are a band that really knows how to arrange a song. Just as an idea is getting old, an unexpected burst of ferocious energy springs forth, such as towards the end of ‘In A Jar’. From a relatively clean guitar sound (In Dinosaur Jr. terms) in the verse and chorus, Mascis piles copious amounts of distortion into a climactic bridge that also features his fine lead work. Likewise, ‘Tarpit’ is heavy rock ‘n’ roll at its most pure – two chord verses with a liberal dose of distortion – that also displays drummer Murphy’s immediate stick work. He is understated but knows how to compliment Mascis’s controlled destruction –  the man whose heavy twang provides a bit of catchiness to a fairly basic melody.

Mascis is not the only songwriter in the group. Bass player, Lou Barlow, also has two writing credits. Album closer, ‘Poledo’, is fairly esoteric, playing a bit like psych-folk – from the mental institution – and is disturbing to say the least. While not a bad track, if this is the sort of music Barlow wants to play, perhaps he should start his own band.

You’re Living All Over Me is a bit inconsistent at times, but it’s the band’s aural aesthetic that blows you away as much as their songs. These guys are not revolutionary, but they are definitely pushing the envelope forward, something which, today, is needed more than ever. Lets face it though, with their sound, Dinosaur Jr. have little chance of breaking out of the college radio circuit – and that is an indictment on the world of rock ‘n’ roll that we live in.