Farm
Do you remember Dinosaur Jr? Of course, if you were born during the 70s, chances are you’ve listened to them when you were in college, during the era of alternative rock. I listened to them because during those times the kind of feedback and distortion that J Mascis’s guitar produced was sweet to my then rebellious ears. Dinosaur Jr broke into the alternative rock scene in the early 90s (though they were formed in 1984) and influenced some of rock music’s greats, like Kurt Cobain. But in 1997 the the group disbanded, and they were forgotten. When they regrouped in 2005, like most of those who listened to them, I did not care; by then my taste in music has grown past them.
Now, they come to my attention again because of their new album entitled Farm. The album debuted at number 29 on Billboard 200 in June. What’s in Farm that makes it worth our attention? Well, if you want to travel back in time to the 90s, you can do it by listening to the kind of music that meant a lot to you then. Those who learned how to listen to music during the alternative rock era easily could do the time travel by listening to old records of their favorite alternative rock bands. Listening to Farm is like listening to Dinosaur Jr in the 90s. The album sounds so much like them in the 90s. I could not say if this is a compliment or disparagement to the band. Farm makes me remember how I listened to music when I was in college and enjoyed it. It is obvious in this album that Mascis wrote the songs in this album with each of the members of his band in mind; it shows in every song in this album that he knows his bandmates’ strengths and weaknesses and wrote the songs guided by this knowledge.
If you haven’t cared yet to listen to this album, I advise you to give the band another shot, I am sure you’ll be surprised at how you’d love listening to them again. As to the new generation of listeners, I guess rock’s appeal is timeless and Farm is one good rock album worth checking out. The tracks to watch out for here are “Pieces”, “Friends”, “Your Weather”, and the bonus track “Creepies”.
