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Wednesday, Oct 11, 1995

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rECORd rEVIEWs

by Richard Krueger

Dinosaur Jr.
Whatever ’s Cool with me
(Sire Records)

Dino Jr’s 1987 release
You're Living all over me
will continue to be hailed
as one of the most
influential records of the
rock era well into the next
century. The problem
with making such a classic
record so early in one’s
career is that all following
albums are judged against
it, usually either as pale
imitations of the original.
If the record represents
some kind of radical new
direction, it often alienates
the original fans of the
band.

While J Mascis’ songs
have become slicker and
more refined over the
years, they“ are still
essentially the same songs.
And since they are his
songs, and could only be
his songs, he deserves
respect. The media seems
to take sadistic pleasure in
hyping a new band (albeit,
sone of these bands really
are quite good) and
placing the future of the
free world on __ their
shoulders. Idol rock is
dead, people. Look to
yourself for inspiration.

This new ep is more-of-
the-same from Dinosaur
Jr, which means a good
collection of tunes that
make you sit back and say,
“Oh yeah,” as you nod in
time with the beat. It is a
well-travelled noise,
decades old, coming from
the underbelly of
American _ blues. I’ve
always thought of this
band’s music as being at
once brand-spankin’-new
and ancient-as-the-hills. It
is music which transcends
time.

Whatever’s Cool with
me features 8 songs’in all:

the title—track plus’ 5
unreleased studio cuts,
with live versions of
“Thumb” and “Keep the
Glove,” both recorded in
Vancouver at the 86 Street
Music Hall in 1991.
RATING: 7/10.

Engine Kid
Angel Wings
(Revelation Records)

The to “EPS. sby
Seattle’s Engine Kid are
sharp chunks of diamond-
cutting noise which play
with one’s tendencies to
say, “Well, it kinda sounds
like this band...no wait! I
sorta like this

mean
band...” Galaxie 500,
Melvins, Helmet,

Codeine... wait — what’s
with these bagpipes and
trumpets? And a John
Coltrane cover? There are
the jagged shards of a
lightning-quick —_d-chord
Rollins-type ditty,
followed by some spoken-
word poetry and even
some jazz. Surprisingly
enough, none of it sounds
out of place. The Kid
covers an immense
amount of territory with
shocking ease.

My favourite track on
Angel Wings is “Anchor,”
a 7-minute opus featuring
the aforementioned
Scottish pipes, talked-
through beatnik lyrics, and
a whole lot of bash &
smash loudness with beat
and tempo changes all
over the place. The
Coltrane cover, “Ole,” is a
free-form exploration of
the song which reaches the
12-minute mark before the
listener is willing to let it
end.

Perhaps in another ten
years people will look
back at the Kid’s Angel
Wings and Bear Catching
Fish in much the same
way as Living all over me .
is regarded today.
RATING: 8/10. !