New Music: Dinosaur Jr.: "We're Not Alone" [MP3]
In contrast to the loud, heavy nods to the past from Dinosaur Jr.'s comeback album we've heard so far, "We're Not Alone" is the work of a band with nothing to prove. Don't write it off for being a simple, off-the-cuff ballad; it's strength is in its plain-facedness. With a charming, clean pluck over an upbeat mid-tempo bounce, J Mascis is free to be as tender ("wanted you to say you'd be around like you are now") and as taunting (the begging-for-dissection line "I don't need to listen, I only need to hear the sound" at the beginning) as he likes. The song even features a full-band stop and a switch midstream to get even perkier and more vulnerable-- before letting loose with a wanky, completely unnecessary, but impossible-to-skip guitar solo. It's ample proof that shaking off expectation and not giving a fuck doesn't have to mean playing at full-throttle.
MP3: > Dinosaur Jr.: "We're Not Alone"
[from Beyond; due 05/01/07 on Fat Possum] | [PRE-ORDER]