REVIEW: Dinosaur Bones – “My Divider”

Dinosaur Bones / My Divider / Dine Alone Records

A useful way to critique the debut album from Toronto’s five-man rock group Dinosaur Bones might be to compare them to another more established quintet composed of similar pieces that create aurally analogous tunes (Seattle’s Minus The Bear). Granted, having only one album under their belts, Dinosaur Bones may not have the experience or the catalogue of MTB, but when it comes to impressionistic lyrics and sophisticated compositions, the band punches above its weight class. “Making Light”, for example begins as sultry come on to a former lover, before giving way to a chilling alien invasion of a bridge, switching to a short groovy guitar solo, and then cutting back to the chilled out verse.

There are moments, as on “N.Y.E.”, when the guitars are relegated to being crunchy additions to the rhythm section, less present in the mix than some really jovial keyboards and even some thick bass lines, but it’s not always the case. The success of My Divider can be measured by how well those three sounds blend with the consistent shimmer and punch of Lucas Fredette’s drums and Ben Fox’s defiant vocals. While it is probably a picture of triumph live under potted stage lights, the slow and cold “Ice Hotels”  never builds enough momentum to warm listeners. “Life In Trees” plods along between instrumental flourishes while the thoughtful combination of guitar riffs, crunching bass and Fox’s voice are most effective on more driven numbers such as “Point of Pride”.

Download: “N.Y.E.”, “Highwire”
 

[Find more reviews plus news updates and other music things on Twitter]

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *