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A reputation, even a good one, can be an unwieldy thing for a band to lug around — perhaps especially if it's a good one.

When Dinosaur Jr. announced in 2005 that its original lineup — J Mascis (guitar/vocals), Lou Barlow (bass/vocals) and Murph (drums) — would be reuniting for a tour to commemorate the re-release of its first three albums, even the most hopeful fans didn't have reason to think it would last very long. Only 16 years earlier, Barlow's departure from the band left a wound between him and Mascis that festered long after Dinosaur Jr. and Barlow's band Sebadoh continued on their parallel tracks. Dinosaur Jr. broke up altogether in 1997.

But that reunion led to more tours, which eventually led to a new album, "Beyond," in 2007, and no one in the band has been able to come up with any reason to stop since then.

"The plan was, 'Oh, we'll probably tour this for a year and half and just pack it in, and that'll be the reunion,' " Murph said in a recent telephone interview with The Salt Lake Tribune ahead of a show Monday at The Depot in Salt Lake City. "Then it was like, 'Oh, this seems to be good. Maybe we should keep this going.' "

Even after everything Dinosaur Jr. had been through, no one was interested in looking back, Murph says. Looking back — or even looking too far forward — hasn't held much appeal.

"We don't really see it as: 'How long is this going to go? How long has it gone?' " Murph says. "We're just always in the moment with whatever we're doing. … And I think that's why it's lasted so long."

Dinosaur Jr.'s reputation, it turns out, isn't so heavy if you don't pay that much attention to it. The band has put out four albums since getting back together 11 years ago, and the August release "Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not" exudes the sound of a band unburdened by itself. From the first distorted riffs of Mascis' guitar on the opener "Going' Down," it's clear that you're hearing a Dinosaur Jr. record, but not in a way that seems self-referential or stale. Dinosaur Jr.'s unmistakable mix of volcanic guitar antics and smirking sincerity becomes a foundation to build upon instead of a formula to re-create. So songs like the sweetly melodic "Be a Part" and the trippy "Mirror" nudge the band just a little further into territory that, while still theirs, remains unexplored.

The fact that Dinosaur Jr. essentially learned the songs on "Give a Glimpse" as they recorded them is a testament to the band's ability to know itself. Mascis works best when he's down to the wire, Murph says, so he usually brought in songs that the rest of the band would learn in the morning and start recording by the afternoon.

"This record was totally pulled out of a hat," Murph said.

In fact, by the time Dinosaur Jr. started touring this year, they had to listen to the record to remind themselves what their songs sounded like.

That's they way it's always been, Murph says.

"We put it out there, and we don't listen to it at all," he says. "Maybe two or three years later, Lou and I will sit down and listen to a record and be like, 'Wow. I forgot we did this. This is really good.' "

Murph compares Dinosaur Jr. to an artist who doesn't let the paint on his canvas dry before moving on to the next piece. He's still taken by surprise to meet fans who have listened to them for so long and know their albums by heart.

"It's still surprising when people come up to us and say, 'You're a huge influence,' " Murph says. "We're always just like, 'Oh, really?' Because we're not really aware of it. We just don't think about it."

That's not conceit talking. It's not even humility. It's propulsion. It's what carries a good Dinosaur Jr. album from one guitar screecher to the next, and it's what carries the band forward altogether. It's what happens when you spend 30 years not letting the paint dry.

"We're not thinking about how this is going to be perceived 10 years from now," Murph says. "That would be horrible. None of us want to work that way. That's just not how we think." —

Dinosaur Jr.

With Steve Gunn and Residual Kid

When • Monday, Oct. 3, 7:30 p.m., doors at 6:30 p.m.

Where • The Depot (at The Gateway), 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $25 advance / $30 day of show; Smith's Tix