Farm

Dinosaur Jr. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jagjaguwar
• ASIN: B0026T4RPC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,852 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Some twenty years after their formation and legendary dissolution, Dinosaur Jr. returned to form with 2007's "Beyond", continuing their march into rock greatness. "Farm" is proof that this band continues to deliver. At times wholly 70s guitar-epic, at times perfect for sitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, "Farm" encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette - soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-rich melodies - songs that get into your head and, bouncing around happily, stay there. Their fifth full-length with the original lineup. Double LP comes in beautiful litho-wrapped gatefold jackets and contains digital download coupon for free MP3s of the album.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic June 26, 2009

By NCL75

Format:Audio CD

This is the rock album of the year.

1. Buy it
2. Listen to it
3. Repeat step 2

I was floored when "Beyond" came out. I was always a huge fan of the band, and was absolutely overjoyed to hear they got back together. When I listened to that album for the first time, I felt like it was 1989 all over again, but in a good and relavent way. That great feeling I got with "Beyond", is present ten-fold with "Farm".

"Plans", "Said The People", and "I Don't Wanna Go There" are instant American classics. They're catchy and substantive. Not always an easy combo to find. Hearing Barlow sing "Imagination Blind" and "Your Weather" is a wonderful thing. More bands should mix up the singing duties. It just completely diversifies a band's sound.

Oh, and even if you don't like amazing music, you should buy the album just for the art. I haven't smoked weed in years, but it ALMOST makes me want to puff again:P I might even buy the vinyl just for the creepy but cool art.

Buy it now.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars - life after Beyond July 10, 2009

By Howlinw

Format:Audio CD

Reunions are a tricky thing. After enough years apart, the question always is whether the spark that once seemed to exist between a particular set of musicians can be revived. Often times, the results can be a little flat or tepid. However, when the original lineup of Dino Jr. came together after nearly 20 years (Barlow was kicked out of the band in the late 80s) to create Beyond (2007), they seemed to pick up right where they had left off. This follow-up proves that this was no accident, and it's great to see this group continuing to work together.

Dino Jr., for those of you who may be new to the band, is a group of dudes from Massachusetts who got their start in the mid 80s and have been seen by some critics as the could-have-been-Nirvana (Curt Cobain was a fan, and was very influenced by the band's sound). However their sound was always a bit too oddball to make it in the commercial mainstream despite a substantial cult following. The band continued making records after founding member Lou Barlow was kicked out in about 1988 (he went on to form the indie godfathers Sebadoh, which was one of my favorite bands when I was in high school), and even enjoyed some commercial success. However, by this point Dino Jr. was pretty much a J Mascis project. Throughout the band's history, the music was characterized by its guitar-centric loudness combined with an increasing sense of melody as time passed.

The original lineup's reunion in 2007 was impressive. The band turned in a truly stunning set of songs, which set the blazing guitars against strong hooks and a high level of energy. This new album follows in the same vein, with hooky material drowned in a sea of delicious guitar fuzz.... If anything, the guitar takes an even more prominent role in some of these tracks, giving the music an almost jammy feel. It's loose and spontaneous sounding, and must have been a lot of fun to record. While the songs are perhaps not quite at the same level as those on Beyond, they're very similar in texture and approach. I just got this disc so I'm not sure which songs will be the standouts yet. However, there isn't a bad one in the pack.

Highly recommended for guitar-rock fans, people who like high-energy alt rock, and really anyone with an open mind. Great for driving too. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An American Classic July 15, 2009

By NCL75

Format:Audio CD

This is the rock album of the year.

1. Buy it
2. Listen to it
3. Repeat step 2

I was floored when "Beyond" came out. I was always a huge fan of the band, and was absolutely overjoyed to hear they got back together. When I listened to that album for the first time, I felt like it was 1989 all over again, but in a good and relavent way. That great feeling I got with "Beyond", is present ten-fold with "Farm".

"Plans", "Said The People", and "I Don't Wanna Go There" are instant American classics. They're catchy and substantive. Not always an easy combo to find. Hearing Barlow sing "Imagination Blind" and "Your Weather" is a wonderful thing. More bands should mix up the singing duties. It just completely diversifies a band's sound.

Oh, and even if you don't like amazing music, you should buy the album just for the art. I haven't smoked weed in years, but it ALMOST makes me want to puff again:P I might even buy the vinyl just for the creepy, but very cool art.

The extra tracks are very sweet.

Buy it now.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How it sounds July 13, 2010

By P. Couture

Format:Audio CD

Great album, but somebody should mention that this CD was mastered TOO FREAKING LOUD. The mix is fuzzy-on-purpose (OK!) but the volume adds a layer of constant distortion. "Beyond" had the same problem - unintentional blur, a gauzy roar between me and the music. But hey, ruinous uber-mastering is the industry standard. Who even notices anymore? I remember a time when CDs weren't designed to blow your head off and consumers could be trusted with a volume knob.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternative Rock Gods Reclaim the Indie Landscape August 18, 2009

By Tom Birkenstock

Format:Audio CD

The first decade of the new millennia, often characterized by an extreme sense of nostalgia, saw the resurrection of many 80s and 90s era rock bands. While each band who came back from the bargain bin engendered reactions ranging from "I should have known" (The Smashing Pumpkins) to "I never would have thought" (The Pixies), there were a couple of groups who truly did the unthinkable and released new indie rock albums that were just as good as their old alternative rock albums. One such band, Dinosaur Jr., shocked everyone when they came together to record a new album not only because of their vitriolic breakup, but because the album in question, Beyond, wound up as one of the best albums of the year. In a turn of events that should have surprised no one, but probably shocked many, Dinosaur Jr.'s follow up, Farm, is even better than their last album.

Farm's cover art, consisting of two Ents carrying naked children in the palms of their hands, provides a psychedelic connection from J. Mascis to the guitar rock gods of yore (c. 1970s). Some of the longer set pieces twist and turn until they invert themselves to reveal expansive guitar solos. The penultimate song, the almost nine-minute "I Don't Want to Go There," begins with a tempo that chugs along like an old car, but as it makes its way across different landscapes, the soaring song finally ends with a monster solo that bites off the entire second half of the running time. Mascis's proficiency with guitar solos so sharp they could skin cats is a singular gift to be sure, but his talents can be traced back to his acknowledged inspiration, Neil Young.... I must admit that, aside from Mascis's voice, I never gave much thought to the comparison, but on Farm you can see the band growing into the profile of Young, much as a man's bones stretch in later years to reveal his grandfather's hidden genetic mark. In some ways Farm sounds as if Neil Young had continued to follow the punk rock inspiration he found when recording the album Rust Never Sleeps.

That's not to say the album is devoid of the great pop songs the band has always delivered. Both "I Want You to Know" and "See You" skip along with such ease that the band makes them look easy, even if few bands write songs this enjoyable two decades into their career. "Over It" is notable for not only being one of the most radio ready songs off the album, but because the song title easily plugs into narratives about the reunion of once avowed enemies, J. Mascis and Lou Barlow. For his part, this time around Barlow's harmonies float higher and his songs are tighter. It is this ability to balance guitar solo freak outs and pop songwriting that makes such a long album seem epic but not overblown (Arcade Fire, take note).

Like a circus daredevil who moves on to higher, more dangerous, heights, many are waiting to see when Dinosaur Jr. will fall. After two outstanding comeback albums how does a band keep on creating excitement? At this point it is probably safe to no longer see Dinosaur Jr. as a reunion band because these albums fit so well within their canon of work. There will be other great albums (and probably some not as great albums) but it is safe to say that watching this band follow its muse into the new millennium will be as rewarding and unpredictable one of Mascis's searing solos. Read more ›