Lead single “I Ran Away” is where Vile’s influence is most felt, in its insistent strummed acoustic 12-string guitar and harmonized twangy electric leads that sound like something out of a long-lost ‘90s sitcom theme.

“To Be Waiting'' has a mid-tempo lumbering rhythm that uses chords that could’ve been on the last two Dino records, but never feels like a rewrite. “I Met the Stones'' features low-tuned chugging heavy-metal downstrokes and Mascis’ absolutely fiery leads that according to were his attempt at simulating Thin Lizzy’s twin-guitar solos, which spar in the left and right channel.

Mascis’ squawking leads play on in the background with the addition of background vocal “wahhhhs,” provided by what sounds like Mascis and Vile added in for good measure. As Mascis sings the chorus, the guitars get thicker and the band become more driving. Mascis sings about yearning for someone a significant other, maybe a bandmate, someone who can “help to bring home” and how without them he’s a lost cause. “I Ain’t” opens the record with the familiar fuzzy riffs of Mascis’ double-tracked guitars, while Murph’s punky drums and Barlow’s gritty bass swing and guide the song into a nice driving groove. Though how much of his contribution is not known aside for a 12-string guitar on the breezy “I Ran Away” and background vocals on a few tracks, there is an easygoing vibe and airiness that permeates the entire record much like his own music. Sweep It Into Space was recorded at the end of 2019, featuring co-production by Philadelphia singer-songwriter Kurt Vile, known for his homespun but spacey psychedelic folk-rock. Post-reunion, Dinosaur Jr has managed to have an impressive second act all too rare in music, celebrating their share of reunion tours for each of the first three albums, proving their growth onstage as an even better live band.

Much like the four albums released on Jagjaguwar over the years as part of their reunion, the band have dialed back the noise and chaos, without sacrificing the energy, the volume, or the consistency in the quality of the music that’s been released. The brand of “ear-bleeding country” perfected on their early records featured the band’s mix of loud, yet melodic noise-pop songs, whose rhythms and intensity owed as much influence to punk and hardcore as Mascis’ drawling voice and love of guitar solos did to classic rock. It is part of a relatively steady stream of very good albums released over the years (staring with 2007’s Beyond) that have shown the late ‘80s band easing into a sound more lived-in and comfortable, but with no shortage of riffs that made Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me and Bug such infectiously melodic albums even as they were caked with distortion, blaring volume, and chaotic noise. Sweep It Into Space is their twelfth album as a band and their fifth album of new material since guitarist/songwriter J Mascis reunited with bass player/songwriter Lou Barlow and drummer Murph. By Zach Noel ( reuniting in 2007, Amherst, Massachusetts indie-rock legends Dinosaur Jr have proven that they are far more than a nostalgia act.

Dinosaur jr sweep it into space