Wow. I cannot recall the last time a label released two albums that so kicked my ass on the same day as Sunset Rubdown's Dragonslayer and Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm. My feelings toward this matter could possibly be affected by the fact that I didn't have the highest expectations for these records (I was worried as to how the alarmingly different sound of SR's Idiot Heart would translate to a whole record, and worried that Beyond was a fluke built on ideas they were kicking around when lou got kicked out, and Dino would have trouble following it up) but I am more blown away by these records than records I was anticipating way more, and it's quite a wonderful feeling. Sunset Rubdown display their most straightforward songs yet (Idiot Heart, Silver Moons) and some of their most experimental (the phenomenal Black Swan), but even the experimental ones have more of a sense of cohesion and don't meander as much. Some may veiw this as bad, but Spencer Krug has already shown us that he can meander, and it's awesome to hear him helming a more focused, band oriented sound. Dinosaur Jr.'s Farm is also their most focused, with the band sounding more ass crushingly confident than ever before on songs like I Don't Wanna Go There and I Want You To Know, while streamlining their sensitive side on Plans and See You, songs seemingly written to make Kevin Drew piss his pants with fear. Dinosaur Jr. are being horribly unfair to their back catalog, it's not going to be able to respond to this. I would suggest that anyone who likes both or either of these bands experiences these records together, and, would please write of their experience here.