Much of my past month has been soundtracked by “Here Before,” the wonderful new album by reunited ‘80s underground rockers the Feelies. There have been too many reunions to count over the last five or so years, but it’s still rare for a band to go the distance and record an album of new material. But here are five “reboot” albums that don’t do anything to diminish the discographies of the bands that recorded them.
Television, “Television” (1992)
One of the original reboot albums, it set the blueprint for what a successful reunion album should be -- a logical progression of sound that accepts the fact that the album is made a decade-plus after the band’s original heyday.
Bratmobile, “Ladies, Women and Girls” (2000)
You can argue about the rest of the list that youth was never really a defining characteristic of their bands. But for riot grrl originals Bratmobile it certainly was, which made the band’s eight-years-later comeback all the more impressive.
Mission of Burma, “ONoffON” (2004)
The Boston group’s second era has now officially been more fruitful than its original run, with three consistently sizzling albums. But “ONoffON,” the group’s 2004 reemergence was especially jarring, sounds careening all over the place with a pinball-like intensity.
Dinosaur Jr., “Beyond” (2007)
Somehow the guitars sounded thicker than ever when the original Dinosaur Jr. ineup returned for the first time in nearly 20 years with with “Beyond.” It used to be simply bone-rattling; now it reverberated in your gut and J Mascis made sure to keep the best guitar tone in the world safely under wraps for two decades before unleashing again here.
The Feelies, “Here Before” (2011)
This is a very self-aware reunion album, beginning with the lyric, “Is it too late to do it again / Or should we wait / Another 10?” It maintains a winking casualness throughout, and the songs gracefully glide into each other, all jangling guitars and sweetly sung vocals.
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