Dinosaur Jr is one of the most criminally underrated bands of all time, they have inspired many beloved bands like My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, and Smashing Pumpkins. The lead guitarist and vocalist J Mascis was #74 on Rolling Stones’ recent Top 250 Guitarists and has worked on iconic albums like producing The Goo demos by Sonic Youth and mixing Hole’s Live Through This.
You’re living all over me is my favorite album, mostly because of how strong the opening track is. Little Fury Things starts with a distorted guitar that hooks you right off the bat paired with its crisp drums and wailing vocals by the band bassist Lou Barlow that sound like a cry for help from a medieval dungeon. The song has an incredible chorus that will be stuck in your head with its beautiful ethereal lyrics. This song would be the best song on almost any album but for You’re Living All Over Me it’s just the tip of the iceberg for what’s to come.
Kracked is a fast song that is held up by its phenomenal guitar solo that is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, it sounds like it was played underwater with screeching highs that echo throughout the solo and ties it all together to be one of my personal favorite solos of all time. The lyrics are catchy and memorable until the song’s quick and abrupt end which will come back at the end of the album.
SludgeFeast opens with a killer and loud solo for the first minute of the song paired with my personal favorite drum performances on the whole album with the drummer Murph doing a fantastic job tying all the instruments together. SludgeFeast Is a 5-minute long epic with the best vocals on the album.
The Lung is a more lighthearted song, it’s a break from the heavy oppressive sounds of the previous tracks. The guitar on the track has a hopeful-sounding tone. The Track has the sound of the beginning of a new day with its beautiful guitar lacking its usual harsh distortion.
Tarpit is another iconic song on this album the vocal delivery is the pinnacle of the slacker rock atmosphere that this album has been building up. The vocals are shaky and sound like Jmascis is just recovering from losing his voice at times. As usual, the guitar is fantastic but near the end, it is particularly great because there is a wall of noise that reminds me of the part from The Wizard of Oz where they see the tornado on the farm.
The album closes with a song that really caught me off guard during my first listen, Just Like Heaven is a cover of the Cure’s 1987 hit of the same name. I personally like Dinosaur Jr’s take on the song more, it takes a pop-inspired rock song and turns it into a heavier beast of a song that still feels emotional like the Cure’s version but in a different way. Both songs have the same lyrics but elicit incredibly different emotions.
I decided not to cover every single song on this album despite having them all written because this album has so much to offer and people should go into it without knowing much, It is truly an excellent album that has lasted the test of time, if you told me a year ago that this was made by a small up and coming band I would have absolutely believed you. This album does have one aspect that could be perceived as a flaw with its low-fidelity production that could turn some new listeners off, but everything else on this album is so polished and genius that the low fidelity adds to the music making it feel more authentic and like it was passionately made. A problem I have with Dinosaur Jr’s (still great) later records is that they feel crisp and clean missing the audible grime of You’re Living All Over Me.
