As a music journalist (…ahem) and a fan/supporter of new music in general, I’ve been to a lot of gigs by up and coming bands. I’ve seen a lot of innovative groups, and a lot that were not so innovative. I’ve been left reeling both by pure talent, and by pure noise. I’ve seen the best and worse of what Ireland’s thriving alternative music scene has to offer…
So, in much the same way that a kid just getting into Nirvana will wear a Daniel Johnston ‘Hi, How Are You?’ t-shirt without knowing anything about Daniel Johnston’s music, a young band will blast barely intelligible lyrics, distorted guitars and crashing drums without knowing anything about Dinosaur Jr. For better or for worse, the band’s sound has spawned some of the loudest, heaviest, and in many cases, unlistenable music ever heard, and a lot of people just simply haven’t heard of them.
Well I’m here to try and set the record straight, and there’s no better way of doing it than taking a look at the band’s breakout record, Bug.
I really can’t underestimate how ingrained this style of music is in the alternative music world. Often the first thing that occurs to a young band is to throw distortion on their guitars and blast out three to four minutes of gritty guitar based alt-rock. Dinosaur Jr were the band that refined that sound and got it down to the essence of the style. The songs are short, range from the melodic to the downright throttling, and each one gives off an immaculate energy.
Bug opens with the marvellous ‘Freakscene’. This is by far and away the best song on the record, if not the band’s whole career. Aside from giving the founders of Ireland’s longest running alternative club night something to call themselves, the song itself is a testament to the melodic power of Dinosaur Jr. It balances the heavy side of the band, with their lyricism and there is a sweet simplicity to the lyrics here;” Don’t let me fuck up will you, ‘cos when I need a friend it’s still you”. The song is an alt-rock anthem, no two ways about it. And what’s more, it’s a great opener to a classic album.
‘No Bones’ slinks in after the opener and proves that the melodies seen on ‘Freakscene’ weren’t just a flash in the pan. The melancholy way that singer J. Macsis approaches the vocals contrasts beautifully with the leading bass line and the bright nature of the vocal lines themselves. This is seen throughout the whole album. ‘They Always Come’ follows suit and seems like a forerunner of the pop-punk style of Greenday, before they even existed.
Bug exists in two worlds. The painfully melodic world, and the angst ridden, frustrated world, and the album moves slowly from one to the other as you progress through the tracks. It’s almost like the joy is being slowly covered over by frustration as the songs become ever more laden with screaming, solos, and cymbals. The culmination of this comes in the form of the album closer ‘Don’t’. Inasmuch as ‘Freakscene’ is the epitome of a bright and melodic, alternative rock song, ‘Don’t’ is the epitome of a frustrated and angry alternative rock song, a song on which (supposedly) bassist Lou Barlow began coughing up blood due to the ferocity with which he sang the song.
In summary, Bug is a fine example of a classic album. The sound that Dinosaur Jr. showcased here has influenced thousands of bands across the western world, ranging from the likes of Nirvana to the smallest garage-rock band in the south of Ireland. Without a shadow of a doubt, Bug is one of the finest alternative rock albums ever recorded.
Published on Drop-D.ie 6th July, 2011
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