Dinosaur Jr. Sweep It Into Space

You know the drill by now: J. drawls unenthusiastically over interminable guitar squall punctuated by furious solos, Murph pounds the snare drum and throws in the odd breathless fill, and Lou delivers the bass and approximately two sad bastard songs per album. It’s a solid formula, although hardly an irresistible one; I would argue that Dinosaur Jr’s only truly great record was 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me. Sweep It Into Space obviously can’t rival that career high, but it is a leading candidate for their best post-reformation effort. Barlow’s contributions are immediate standouts—the sublime Garden, in particular—but there’s a breezy vibe throughout and the band sounds ridiculously relaxed and carefree. This could be the influence of co-producer Kurt Vile, but perhaps that’s just an overly simplistic take. Ultimately, it’s kind of irrelevant. If you think music has lacked something since the heyday of late ‘80s/early ‘90s indie-rock, then this is the 2021 record for you.