Dinosaur Jr.

À l'occasion de la sortie du nouvel album de Dinosaur Jr, voici un petit résumé de la discographie du groupe pour ceux qui voudraient se pencher sur la carrière de ces authentiques pionniers et héros de la scène grunge (pas le grunge métal d'Alice In Chains, Soundgarden ou Stone Temple Pilots mais bel et bien le "vrai" grunge de descendance punk/hardcore qui a inspiré Nirvana).

DINOSAUR (3/5)
1985
Les débuts brouillons et timides du jeune trio de Boston, qui devra ajouter le suffixe "Jr." à son nom suite à des problèmes légaux (un autre groupe était propriétaire du nom Dinosaur). La vision singulière et les talents de Jmascis, Barlow et Murph sont déjà évidents, mais le tout manque de cohésion et la production maigrelette ne rend pas justice à la puissance de leur son. Néanmoins, plusieurs titres bien torchés font tourner les têtes de toute la scène indé américaine.

YOU'RE LIVING ALL OVER ME (5/5)
1987
La claque. Plus court, plus musclé et plus direct que son prédécesseur cet album expose au grand jour tout ce qui fait le sel de Dinosaur Jr: une voix plaintive et flemmarde perdue dans un mur de distorsion, de riffs surexcités et de percussions bordéliques. La production reste crade et amateur à souhait mais ne peut contenir la flamboyance d'un groupe qui inaugure un son, un style et presque une philosophie. Une sorte de "Fun House" des années 80 pour la génération slacker, un classique à la fois mélodique et outrageusement noisy qui frôle la perfection de bout en bout.

BUG (4,5/5)
1989
Le début officiel de la dictature de JMascis. Lou Barlow, l'écorché vif du groupe, n'écrit plus aucune chanson et se contente d'assurer le service minimum à la basse, ce qui n'empêche pourtant pas Bug d'être accueilli comme un nouveau chef d'oeuvre. C'est un Dinosaur Jr un poil moins hardcore que l'on découvre avec cet ultime disque pour le légendaire label indé SST, truffé d'excellentes chansons qui flirtent davantage avec la pop et le folk. JMascis prend de plus en plus confiance en ses qualités de songwriter et de guitariste.

GREEN MIND (4/5)
1991
Le grand saut de Dinosaur Jr sur une major s'effectue après l'éviction de Lou Barlow, dont le groupe Sebadoh deviendra l'un des piliers de la scène lo-fi des années 90. JMascis continue dans la voie plus ouvertement pop tracée par Bug, et un sympathique EP dans la même veine (Whatever's Cool With Me) sortira peu après Green Mind pour enfoncer le clou. Sans abandonner les dissonances et les distorsions qui font la réputation du groupe, ce disque bénéficie d'une production plus fine dont le son fait souvent penser aux Pixies. Évidemment, pas de loud/quiet/loud ici puisqu'il est désormais établi que tout ou presque est "loud" chez Dinosaur Jr. Encore un très bon album.

WHERE YOU BEEN (5/5)
1993
Si Green Mind restreignait légèrement la démesure noisy du groupe, le meilleur disque de l'ère post-Barlow remet les pendules à l'heure et les amplis à 11 (ok, 12 ou 13 dans le cas de JMascis) grâce à une production résolument métallique. Des riffs dévastateurs et autres solos de guitare épiques se succèdent sur des titres plus mélodiques que jamais. On note aussi l'apparition de plusieurs compositions mid-tempo influencées par Neil Young, des presque-ballades déjà tentées sur les albums précédents qui prennent ici une dimension bien supérieure, portées par la maturité du groupe et l'excellent travail de Murph à la batterie. Le virage noise-pop est consommé et Dinosaur Jr bascule définitivement dans la légende.

WITHOUT A SOUND (3/5)
1994
Difficile pour moi de noter cet album puisque c'est celui qui m'a fait découvrir et aimer le groupe, mais en toute objectivité cet étrange "Where You Been II" est un point de cassure dans la discographie de Dinosaur Jr. JMascis vire Murph et opte pour une approche grunge FM qui fera de Without a Sound son plus gros succès commercial sur le dos du tube très pixien Feel The Pain. L'ensemble est satisfaisant, parfois brillant, mais quelque peu plombé par certains titres anecdotiques et la sensation d'épuisement mental lié à l'alcoolisme de JMascis.

HAND IT OVER (3/5)
1997
Un JMascis sobre et prêt à en découdre livre un album de power-pop qui n'a dans le fond plus grand chose à voir avec l'énergie punk maintenue jusqu'à Where You Been. Tous les ingrédients soniques propres à Dinosaur Jr semblent pourtant réunis sur ce disque sophistiqué qui se permet d'ajouter des arrangements délicats à la recette (un piccolo par-ci, un banjo par-là), et notre guitar hero se fend même de quelques-unes de ses plus belles envolées sur le haut du manche. Une manoeuvre qui pourrait s'avérer payante chez d'autres groupes, mais Hand it Over ne parvient pas à rallumer la flamme et sent l'album solo à plein nez malgré une première moitié inspirée. Fin d'une étape.

BEYOND (4,5/5)
2007
Suite à l'heureuse reformation des trois membres originaux, le toujours dangereux test du "comeback album" est plus que convaincant. Si l'âge du groupe se fait sentir dans l'ambiance très classic rock qui se dégage de Beyond on y retrouve en revanche tout le mordant qui faisait défaut au Dinosaur Jr lessivé de Without a Sound et Hand it Over. JMascis reprend les choses où il les avait laissées avec Where You Been, cette fois accompagné de ses deux meilleurs lieutenants. Lou Barlow contribue même deux superbes chansons qui montrent à quel point son retour est bénéfique, sans parler de son jeu de basse viscéralement dinosaurien. Un album qui résume bien toutes les qualités du groupe tout en appuyant fermement sur le bouton reset.

FARM (4/5)
2009
Le succès de Beyond encourage JMascis, Barlow et Murph à lui donner une suite, avec presque autant de réussite. Farm est un disque qui fleure bon la confiance retrouvée lors des nombreuses tournées ayant suivi la reformation. Le groupe a retrouvé son mojo sur scène et en profite pour pondre un album épique dont le son plus brutasse et plus uniforme se rapproche de ce que l'on peut entendre en concert. Les arrangements soignés et contrastés de Beyond sont donc remplacés par un mur de guitares presque assourdissant du toujours mégalo JMascis, bouffant la basse de Barlow comme au bon vieux temps de Bug. Du bon gros rock dans ta face qui a néanmoins ravi les amateurs grâce à la très bonne tenue des chansons.

I BET ON SKY (4/5)
2012
Le vieux Dino n'a plus grand chose de Junior mais ne montre aucun signe de fatigue sur ce dixième album. Il suffit d'écouter les deux premières chansons du disque, magistrales, pour s'apercevoir que le groupe continue de s'amuser à explorer tranquillement les possibilités et les nuances d'un son façonné il y a plus d'un quart de siècle, en des temps reculés où un certain Kurt encore inconnu se précipitait à leurs concerts. I Bet On Sky délaisse l'agressivité et les jams à rallonge de Farm au profit d'une approche plus pop et enjouée, voire "funky" comme l'a indiqué un JMascis toujours aussi peu loquace en interview. Lou Barlow s'affirme davantage, tant à la basse que dans la qualité de ses chansons, tandis que Murph fait du Murph, c'est-à-dire du très bon boulot. Un disque de rock à la fois cool et plein de métier comme on en entend trop peu de nos jours de la part des survivants et autres ressuscités de l'ère grunge.

A Couple of News, More Free Stuff

 Hi there,


 My idea was to make this post a round-up of the best releases from these past few weeks but I decided to save that for later (there are still a couple of albums I'd like to listen to) and instead I'll just point you in the direction of some excellent music available here and there on the web at the moment: JMascis has offered a new track from his forthcoming solo album (still a few weeks to go!) - the song is called "Is It Done" and can be downloaded over at Pitchfork. It's pretty good if you're into grungy acoustic stuff in the vein of Nirvana's famous unplugged set - well, considerably less angsty - and totally genius if, like me, you have been following Dinosaur Jr for decades. Otherwise, it probably won't do much for you.


 Personal favorites The Limiñanas have also been busy and got a lot of high profile recognition lately. Mojo gave them a 4 stars review in their march edition and seminal DJ and producer Andrew Weatherhall played "Je Ne Suis Pas Très Drogue" on his radio show (so, what do you say about The Thinking Noise's infallible radar for good stuff, mmmmh??). Let's hope this is only the beginning of greater exposure for them... A new 7" is coming out next month - meanwhile you can listen to one of the new tracks here. 


 Last but not least, don't miss the opportunity to get new italian project Dumbo Gets Mad's debut album (out on Badpanda records) in its entirety for free! All you have to do is go to this page and follow the instructions - basically just post a small advertisement for the album on your twitter or facebook profile in order to get a link to download the whole thing. Fair enough!

                
 This is the typical outsider LP seemingly coming from nowhere and slowly building devoted groups of admirers everywhere. Glowing reviews for "Elephants At The Door" won't be hard to find on the net by now so I won't bother writing a whole article about it, but if you're into vintage psychedelia echoing the likes of Zappa or Captain Beefheart-era californian bands - all in a DIY fashion - you will definitely love this record and the mind trip it takes you on. The production is warm and richly detailed, overflowing with colorful sound effects and fun ideas, stylistically all over the place but still focused and coherent overall. Impressive work since the guy behind the Dumbo Gets Mad moniker apparently recorded the whole album by himself with limited means and budget. This is great music to chill out to that falls in the "weird and wonderful" category, really out there in some places yet referencing enough classic pop and retro sounds not to be inaccessible. So don't go looking for hit singles on "Elephants At The Door": it is only great if you let it play as an experimental journey, and I guess it might work even better if you've got a lump of hash within reach and some time to kill... Haven't tried that yet, so I can't say for sure! HIGHly recommended!

Wire: forever!

 Yes, Wire. It warms my heart to think that nearly 35 years on from the legendary "Pink Flag" this band is still capable of releasing fantastic music. Make no mistake, "Red Barked Tree" may not sound as original or groundbreaking as their first record - and no, it's not up there with "Chairs Missing" or "154" either - but it's still unique, weird, idiosyncratic, all those things that made them so exciting and influential in the first place.

 This album has been very well received in general but I did notice some crappy reviews here and there. Most of them criticize the compressed sound, the glossy production and guitar effects, and some even complain about the overly intellectual lyrics. If we were talking about some new hipster band I would probably agree, but what we have here is a Wire record: more than a specific sound these guys share a vision and a long history in "subverting genres" and "confounding expectations", as stated on their website. They've been there, done that, and for anyone familiar with their back catalogue there really isn't much on "Red Barked Tree" that feels "suspicious" or strays too far from their artistical ethics.

Now Was

 Without a doubt this is classic Wire, and what makes this new album such a treat is the notion of pleasure that is palpable throughout its 11 songs: Colin Newman, Graham Lewis and Robert Grey seem to be having a great time playing together, something sadly unusual when bands have been around for so long (though it's true they split and reformed various times, and now carry on without founding guitarist Bruce Gilbert). "Red Barked Tree" is varied, exciting, definitely more concise, melodic and accessible than their previous releases, often shying away from their experimental side in favour of straighter dynamics. The wall-of-sound guitar textures are sometimes reminiscent of shoegaze or dream pop, and while there is still a very cerebral element to their songwriting they do let off some steam by rocking out ("Smash") or locking into simple, danceable pop grooves on tracks like "Bad Worn Thing". Even the quieter and more downbeat songs feature some pretty, elegiac acoustic guitars.

Bad Worn Thing

 Wire notoriously always avoided making another "Pink Flag" and made a point in evolving constantly, but on this release you can sense they are not afraid to make music that revisits their early output while simultaneously updating their sound. The result is a very good record that effortlessly balances their punk roots with their more ethereal and arty ambitions. When a band ages so well and offers such a clever perspective on the world more than three decades into their career, one can only hope they will keep recording and touring. Let's see if we feel the same about Gang Of Four later this month...                 

Smith Westerns: hype over substance

 Not much Thinking has been going on here lately, and very little Noise has been heard to say the least. I must admit it is kind of shameful and slightly embarrassing coming from a new blogger who promised to keep things exciting... but you know, let's stay positive. Let's go ahead and pretend that nothing happened (hey, that's actually true!). I just didn't feel like writing about anything, so why try so hard? You probably also noticed that 2011 is not what you would call a musical explosion so far. Even the NME is busy reviewing stuff that came out three months ago.

 But things should pick up very soon. For now, the Smith Westerns album is finally out after weeks of non-stop propaganda from just about every indie blog out there. So, is it any good? Well, yes and no. Like many over-hyped records it is rather underwhelming at first but to be fair there are some fine songs on "Dye It Blonde". Their fuzzy 70's riffing pleasantly recalls the classic T-Rex sound, although it does turn into a gimmick at times and gets a little bit irritating in places - especially when the songwriting isn't as good as on lead single "Weekend". But it's easy to see why kids all love that band: they're young enough to speak for a new generation, their first effort was original, raw and catchy and now they're coming back with a "bigger" record filled with jangly guitars and sweet pop hooks. Everything a teenage alternative rock fan could want, like The Strokes, The Libertines or Arctic Monkeys in the past decade. That said, I seriously doubt "Dye It Blonde" will end up being regarded as the new "Is This It?", mainly because there are too many weak points on the album. They do recycle sounds from the past with a youthful and entertaining modern twist, but their music feels too juvenile and superficial overall to be remembered as classic material. Still, it's a pleasant listen - nothing more, nothing less.    

Weekend

 Now that I have bitched about the young and pretty it's time to praise the work of veterans like Wire, who just recently put out their best effort in years, "Red Barked Tree". I wasn't particularly looking forward to that release but it truly is great... more about it in the next post.

New Year Mixtape From Last Year (yeah I know, confusing!)

 Hello friends,


 First I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year, lots of happiness, health and success - anything that can help to make your 2011 a fun and memorable year! Don't we all deserve a good time in this age of economical mayhem and freedom-annihilating new laws? Of course we fucking do!


 Wherever you live, I think you might agree the last decade saw things go from bad to worse on many levels. Politically, it has been a spectacularly awful time. We are all walking around with iPhones now, and loving it, but are we better off than ten years ago? Any satisfaction these days has to be strictly personal, while our sense of community is slowly disappearing. In other words: everyone has gone solo. Like Bill Wyman, or something. So, here's to a new era - hopefully we can go somewhere more interesting very soon... And I hear Mr Wyman is reuniting with the Stones to record a song, so there you go.


 Now that we have kissed 2010 goodbye, I indulged in preparing a mixtape with some of my favorite songs from this past year. Please note that "I'm Dead" or any of the songs on The Limiñanas debut album should have been included, but I strongly encourage you to support them and buy their music instead. Not that I'm "against" illegal downloading: that topic is getting old by now and I couldn't care less if the music industry is in trouble. Small record companies and artists have historically always been struggling, and illegal copies existed long before the days of internet. Why feel guilty because you fail to be a perfect consumerist?... Personally, I probably could buy a house with all the money I spent on records in my life! So screw them if they can't adapt. Laws and systems like the french "Hadopi" are the most ridiculous and useless measures ever taken, and everyone seems to know that but the moronic people who run cultural matters. If a business doesn't work, incriminating and pissing off the potential buyers is no solution. On top of that, whether they can afford to buy something or not, most music fans are conscious that there are bands and labels who truly deserve to be helped commercially. When they go platinum, however, feel free to steal anything they release (just kidding!).


 So, this is how it goes:


 THINKING NOISE #1

   SIDE A
   1. Saying Goodbye - The Greenhornes
   2. Bootstraps - Drew Grow And The Pastors' Wives
   3. Tighten  Up - The Black Keys
   4. Solitude Is Bliss - Tame Impala
   5. Mexico - The Soft Pack
   6. Oh So Protective One - Girls
   7. In The Sun - She & Him
   8. Winter Rose - The Bees


   SIDE B
   1. Telephone - The Black Angels
   2. Come On - Mujeres
   3. The Way to Gone - Black Mountain
   4. 1000 Years - The Coral
   5. Eyesore - Women
   6. Sweetest Kill - Broken Social Scene
   7. Revival - Deerhunter
   8. Round and Round - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti




 This is not meant to be the ultimate 2010 playlist or anything along those lines. Just a bunch of cool songs that caught my attention last year. I'd rather upload a few songs every now and then than drop one mp3 at a time over several scattered posts. Hope you will enjoy the mix!

Swell, Be My Weapon, Wendell Davis: David Freel's Cult Odyssey

 There's a lot of music to enjoy and look forward to these days: personal mixes or a good DJ set are an essential part of celebrations, and I guess most New Year's Eve playlists should be ready as I'm writing this (what's on yours?)... However, there aren't many records coming out or news to get excited about. Nothing out of the ordinary, anyway. Sure, the new Beady Eye single is surprisingly good, much better than anyone could have expected from Liam Gallagher. R.E.M's "Discoverer" on the other hand is predictably average. There is also a lot of talk and far too much publicity around the new Gorillaz album, "The Fall", all because it was reportedly recorded and mixed on an iPad while the band toured this year. Judging by the ecstatic reactions on the web and elsewhere, it seems recording on an iPad is the most important and original thing anyone has done in a long time. Well, that's pushing it a bit! All in all it's a very opportunistic move from Damon Albarn and quite symptomatic of the cultural meltdown we have to endure in this day and age. Who cares if he recorded the thing on his mobile phone, his laptop or the latest gadget? Is anyone going to talk about MUSIC?... Besides, the album was supposed to be given away as a free download but I guess someone needed the money and finally "The Fall" is only available for a few privileged fans, streamable for everyone else, and waiting for some proper physical and digital releases (not free at all then), further demonstrating how kind Gorillaz can be to their audience.  


 Ok, enough rambling. There isn't much going on and I don't feel like spending too much time looking back on this year's releases, so why not use the opportunity to talk about an old, mostly forgotten quality band such as Swell, and David Freel's more recent projects Be My Weapon and Wendell Davis? At least, if you go over to Freel's PsychoSpecific page you will find no less than five albums you can download for free (donations accepted, and deserved): Swell's last record "South Of the Rain And Snow", from 2007, the Be My Weapon release "march/2009", and this year's project under the alias Wendell Davis, "1st". Two albums of Swell rarities and b-sides are also offered ("Bastards and Rareities" and "The Lost Album").


 Mp3s are available in either 160kbps or 320kbps, and they sound great - especially the more recent albums. So, what are you waiting for???

                         

Of course, David Freel's songs probably won't be included in your party mix. Swell formed in the late 80's in San Francisco and instantly found a sound all their own, their seductive lo-fi alternative rock propulsed by Sean Kirkpatrick's dry and syncopated drums, Freel's stoned vocals and sharp strumming - soon to be perfectly counterbalanced by Monte Vallier's elegant and loose bass playing. Eight albums and twenty years later Swell have performed and recorded with many different line-ups, often adding a second guitarist to the proceedings, but the Freel/Vallier/Kirkpatrick era is still regarded as the classic incarnation of the band.


 After two self-produced albums, "Swell" and "... well?" (both excellent), this line-up went on to release some of Swell's best music on "41", their 1994 major label debut, but went quickly from being critically acclaimed - and hailed by John Peel himself as the "next big thing" - to being unceremoniously dropped by Warners because of poor sales. They soldiered on regardless and released yet another great album on Beggars Banquet, 1997's "Too Many Days Without Thinking", soon followed by what is probably their masterpiece: 1998's "For All The Beautiful People" (with Rob Ellis on drums). Despite their unique sound, consistently good reviews and the quality of their output, Swell never produced a radio hit and were condemned to obscurity. By then, however, they had developed a relatively small but highly devoted fanbase in the US and in Europe (particularly in France) and remain a cult act to this day.

 Monte Vallier eventually left during the recording of "Everybody Wants To Know" (2001), Swell's most experimental but least loved album, and David Freel became the only driving force in the band, although Sean Kirkpatrick briefly returned to drum on 2003's more conventional "Whenever You're Ready". Many fans believed this record to be Swell's swansong until Freel unexpectedly resurfaced with the brilliant "South Of The Rain And Snow" in the winter of 2007, a back-to-basics affair and by far the most intimate Swell recording, featuring ex-Queens Of The Stone Age drummer Nick Lucero.

 Listening to Swell has never been about "rocking out" or "playing the hits", even though they might have sometimes aimed at both those things earlier on in their career. Pick up any of their records, let it play and you're entering a particular mood, sustained through nearly all of their songs. The experience can be quite soothing, and you often find yourself transported to a chilled-out, reflective state. No wonder they opened for Mazzy Star the night of their first-ever show. When the magic works, David Freel's songwriting and voice have the rare ability to take the listener by the hand and gently lead him/her to another dimension, thanks largely to a great sense of pace and an obsessive attention to detail. The music may come across as bleak, almost miserable at first, but patient listening and repeated plays are greatly rewarding. This man sounds cool, in a way that is very different and infinitely more elegant than the grunge posers his band was once associated with.


 After the release of "South Of The Rain And Snow", Freel decided to distance himself from the name Swell - at least for a while - and put out another two albums, one under the "Be My Weapon" moniker and another using the name Wendell Davis. Both are very good, even more pared down recordings, less immediate than Swell maybe but blessed by some beautiful guitar playing and lots of truly memorable moments as far as songwriting goes. Again, these are carefully detailed works of art that need a few replays to be fully appreciated. But after that, you're bound to get addicted!
  

 Be My Weapon may well be returning with a new album in 2011. Of course, I will let you know, but should you wish to find out more about Swell/Be My Weapon/Wendell Davis there's a pretty useful fansite out there with all the information you need. There is a Swell Facebook page too, with an insightful David Freel interview he did not too long ago. Worth reading if you get into his music.

Beach House for Christmas

 Yes, it's that time of year again. It's warm inside, the lights are glowing and by now there's enough food in the kitchen to feed a whole brigade. Let there be peace in your heart and love all around you: Happy Christmas everyone!


 I don't know about you, but my Christmas is lacking some proper indie pop this year. Having just been inadvertently exposed to the latest Coldplay single "Christmas Lights" ("Still waiting for the snow to fall/It doesn't really feel like Christmas at all"), I felt a sudden urge to rush home and listen to the first five Black Sabbath albums in a row to cleanse my ears. Then I decided this short post would humbly go some way towards restoring dignity in the Christmas single tradition, and of course talk about great indie music.


 Whether you like Christmas or not (it's become trendy to hate it, or at least to say so), it's difficult to escape all those childhood memories and a certain sense of nostalgia. For many people, it can also be a time of worry and heartache and I think it's only natural when songs about Christmas convey a little bit of melancholy, without necessarily sounding too syrupy or depressing (or totally crap). So it's hats off once again to the Baltimore duo Beach House for their christmas single "I Do Not Care For The Winter Sun", offered as a free download by the band, a simple yet touching love song carried by the otherworldly voice of Victoria Legrand (the niece of Michel Legrand, for the frenchies out there). Everything that's good about Beach House is in that track, although it probably doesn't match the greatness of singles "Zebra" and "Norway" from this year's excellent "Teen Dream". That album has been blogged about a million times though, so I better stop here.


 Wish you all a wonderful time!