Dinosaur Jr - Where You Been

1x****
"Out There"**** is a promising start, due to J's crunchy lead/rhythm intro that carries through the song. The big single "Start Choppin" isn't tremendously memorable until the weird vocal falsetto/guitar trill that ends the verses, which sadly ruins the song despite the strong verses. The high vocal flourish "What Else Is New" is more bouncy and carefree than I could ever expect out of J, but this is quickly countered but the punk buzzsaw "On The Way" and "Not The Same" an understated dirge that alternates with a dramatic leslie/chorus-heavy guitar riff, a cool little novelty that gets old after 6-minutes. Nothing on the album is far from J's typical palette, never mind that "Get Me" and "Drawerings" as almost the exact same song. After this slacking, it's only downhill as "Goin Home" is so listless that J can't even commit a proper vocal for half the track. The snare-cannon intro of closer "I Ain't Sayin" is essentially the alarm for the listener to wake up and change the CD; it's not a bad song to listen to during this activity, though the cheesy big rock intro/ending might as well have been recorded by Damn Yankees.

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