There is nothing quite like a Dinosaur Jr. album. The best ones are always recognizble from the first notes. And even though J tries to trip us up by smearing "Don't Pretend You Didn't Know" with keyboards, it's clear from the moment he starts his vocals that this is the one and only Dinosaur Jr., long reigning kings of Amherst, Massachusetts and anywhere else they choose to hang their toques.

I Bet On Sky is the third Dinosaur Jr. album since the original trio of J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph reformed in 2005. And, crazily, it marks the band's 10th studio album since their debut on Homestead Records in 1985. Back in the '80s, if anyone had suggested that these guys would be performing and recording at such a high level 27 years later, they would have been laughed out of the tree fort. The trio's early shows were so full of sonic chaos, such a weird blend of aggression and catatonia that we all assumed they would flame out fast. But the joke was on us.

The trio has taken everything they've learned from the various projects they tackled over the years, and poured it directly into their current mix. J's guitar approaches some of its most unhinged playing here, but there's a sense of instrumental control that matches the sweet murk of his vocals. This is head-bobbing riff-romance at the apex. Lou's basswork shows a lot more melodicism now as well, although his two songs on I Bet on Sky retain the jagged rhythmic edge that has so often marked his work. And Murph, well he still pounds the drums as hard and as strong as a pro wrestler, with deceptively simple structures that manage to interweave themselves perfectly with his bandmates' melodic explosions.

Dinosaur Jr. I Bet On Sky Track Listing:

1.  Don't Pretend You Didn't Know
2.  Watch The Corners
3.  Almost Fare
4.  Stick A Toe In
5.  Rude
6.  I Know It Oh So Well
7.  Pierce The Morning Rain
8.  What Was That
9.  Recognition
10. See It On Your Side