Bug

I didn’t really know what to expect, but Bug grabbed me straight away with the guitar. “Freak Scene” is great—killer riff, solo that basically sings, and easily my favourite track. The first half of the album keeps that energy going with some awesome melodic guitar hooks, but the back half felt a bit weaker on first listen. The vocals are a bit hit-and-miss for me—sometimes they work, sometimes they feel distant. What blows me away is how modern it sounds for an ’80s album. Overall, I’d give it 3/5 if I’m judging the whole thing, but for the guitar moments and how modern it feels, more like 4/5. Definitely coming back to it.

one of the best bands ever

Doesn't really grab me, but not terrible

Wasn’t vibing with this album but started to with their album you’re living all over me.

I’m sure it’s carthartic to do a screamo song. Considerate of them to limit it to one on the album

I feel like I’m supposed to like this album, as someone who loves indie rock. But I just don’t. Not terrible, but not a fave.

Fair album, just a bit too rough around the edges for my liking. 3/5

This sounded like an album that I'd like, but maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it (Monday morning, tired...). It just sounded so muddy to me.

j mascis when j femmeis walks in:

Kind of the definition of a 3 for me. Some tracks that grow on me that I'd be happy to listen to again. Some tracks that are kind of annoying. Did it need to be on the list? Not really. Am I ok having heard it? Sure.

Again, pretty much instantly forgettable. Some of it’s cool, some of it’s too like ‘sludgy’ for me, I don’t know. First half better than the second. (2.5 stars)

The aesthetic is cool, the songs were dross.

Not a fan, honestly not for me. Some parts were fine, but then others were just hard for me to get through. Not for me overall

I always feel like I should like Dinosaur Jr. more than I do. It’s just too thrashy for me.

My dismissal of bands in the days of my youth has become a pattern in this project. Dinosaur Jr. Is one of those bands. I guess I just felt that they weren’t heavy enough. A mark of a great person is admitting when they’re wrong. I think I was too focused on them not being heavy enough that I never payed attention to how much they rock. This record kicks ass! The Black Album just got bitch slapped.

3/23/26. Very solid. Feels like they dialed in the 90s sound before it blew up; love the energy and no-nonsense nature of each song. Will revisit this and the rest of the band's work.

I really enjoyed the grunge style of the album — reminded me of Nirvana.

Pas du mauvais garage rock

Harsh noisy rock music, they keep a relatively consistent sound so this album serves mostly as a bonus-pack for people who already liked their other earlier album on the list I am of this grouping

Real nice alternative surprised this isn't 90s. Reminds me of pixies Favorite: yeah we know Least: don't

Heard Before? Yup. Notes: - a triumph of sequencing, especially the one-two punch at the end. - until this point I've always returned to "you're living all over me". but this might be better, for ill-defined reasons. more variety? Verdict: Loud at any volume. Mewling vocals, lyrics i don't care about, propulsive basslines, blunt force drumming, guitar squall. When I'm in the mood, it hits just right. Listen Again? I think so!

Some of the songs might be on a bit of the long side but I enjoyed this. Probably not for everyone but right up my alley. 6/10

Another Dinosaur Jr. album that’s super rad except the vocals leave me cold.

Das Album hat ein Guten flow. Nur ein Song stört den Gesammt eindruck des Albums sehr.

Sehr schrabbelig. Hab’s beim Roller fahren in leise gehört. Aber geil war es nicht. Nicht meine Musik und dieses verzerrte finde ich ganz schlimm.

Cover und Bandname wecken Hoffnung. Leider ein bisschen austauschbar find ich. Zumindest lange nicht so quirky wie sie von außen wirken. "Yeah we know" war nice aber an sich ist mir die stimme vom Sänger zu seicht und lame. Bei "Don't" passiert mehr sowas wie ich jetzt vom Cover und Namen her erwartet hätte und fand ich cool, aber es ist halt nur der eine Song ... Und gut ins Album fügt der sich leider auch nicht ein ...

Zwei mal versucht zu hören aber hat mich nicht wirklich gecatcht Stimme nervt mich teilweise Fav: Freak scene

Super interesting listen. Worth a deeper dive.

Yawn. Whatever.

Dinosaur Jr. – Bug (1988) On Day 88, I found Bug to be another example of the production trying to carry the whole show. While "Freak Scene" started off promising and gave me a taste of their melodic grunge style, the experience got worse as I moved deeper into the tracklist. The vocals were consistently off and lacked the energy needed to match the "loud as hell" guitar work. While the musicianship is clearly there, the vocal performance felt lazy and detached, making the project feel pretty passable rather than a true body of work. It’s not the worst thing I’ve heard, but it’s a mid-level listen that earns a 2/5 primarily because the production kept it from falling apart although most of it was noise.

Relisten Love Dinosaur Jr. a lot, especially their earlier, noiser stuff like this. It's not quite on the level of You're Living All Over Me, but I do really like this album and found myself enjoying it a lot more on this relisten. The rough around the edges production is a big appeal, and I love the vocals and lyrics - they sound very intentionally immature, like a child throwing a tantrum at times (especially Don't, with its wailing "Why don't you like me" almost sounding creepy coming from a grown man's voice.) Glad to get a really good album after a couple consecutive duds Favorite tracks: Freak Scene, Yeah We Know, Don't Least favorite: didn't really have one 4.5/5

angsty teenage boys in the 90s

Early adopters of a type of music I didn’t like in the mid ‘90s, with undeniable highlights. It sure is windy outside my house.

Listening to this album made me remember a review I wrote of a Dinosaur Jr gig I attended in 2010. I found the laptop containing the file, laptop would not turn on. $35 dollars on a charging cable later, I found my review. The review read: [REDACTED - PSA - DO NOT READ ANYTHING YOU WROTE IN YOUR EARLY 20s EVER]

Rätt slätstruket egentligen. Men känner ändå viss behållning. Det är verkligen inte jättebra. Typisk mellanmjölk.

Konstaterade redan efter förra skivan att jag inte älskar den här sångaren, tycker fan att han bitvis sjunger falskt eller åtminstone inte klarar att ta vissa toner. Utöver det rätt stora handikappet är det ändå rätt bra, med flera låtar som är lätta att gilla, även om jag tyckte förra skivan var något bättre (kan dock bero på att jag gav den fler chanser). Stark trea.

Way too much yelling for a Monday morning.

A really good album from a band I’ve been meaning to check out for ages. Starts with an absolute banger in Freak Scene and for the most part I enjoyed everything afterwards. The only thing stopping it from getting the full 5 stars was I didn’t like Don’t. Top Track - Freak Scene

The drums and guitar have a pretty good energy, but the vocal really turns me off from this album. It honestly sounds like he doesn't care at all and couldn't be bothered to put in any effort. He sounds bored and tired, and that makes me bored of listening. The only track where he's really invested is 'Don't' which is kinda cool. Unfortunately the guitar on that track ends up a bit grating to my ears after a little bit Standouts Don't 2/5

Well, 9/10 of these songs was just silly indie music that should be in the background of some teen film or Gavin and Stacey. Nice guitars I guess. However the song called "Don't" was fab, just screaming over and over again. Not enough to raise it into a pass I'm afraid x

Nice to revisit a classic album from my teenage years. Hearing it open with "Freak Scene" still gives me goosebumps. 5 stars in 1990, and 5 stars today.

This week I’vebeen haunted by bands my 20’s self tried to endure/ discover. I’m at the end of the tether, let’s give this album a try. Nope, still not a Dinosaur Jr fan. Unsure why I love Sonic Youth but the buzzy guitars of DJ don’t do it for me.

Noisy.

Hits a nostalgic chord for me. Cool, simple tunes with driving guitar and rhythm section. Awash in rock that you don’t have to think on or try too hard with.

There is a phenomenon that I'm sure has been remarked on before but that I have dubbed the "Psycho Problem" after Alfred Hitchcock's seminal 1960 film of the same name. It refers to my personal experience when watching Psycho--I did not find it particularly scary. This is because it pioneered a lot of the horror tropes that have become commonplace today, which have since been expanded on, and so the original source materials is now perceived as less effective. Tropes such as the 'killing a woman in a shower' or 'split personality killer' are tropes that Psycho created! But they're so commonplace now that the subversions of these tropes were big like 20 years ago. And we'll never not live in a pre-Psycho world again, so we can never really go back to perceiving Psycho as it was meant to be perceived in 1960--as shocking, and horrifying, and scary. All this is to say that as we are going through the 1001 Greatest Albums of All Time, these are supposed to be the Most Influential albums of the 20th/21st century and so many fall victim to the Psycho Problem. And I don't know enough about the history of popular music to discern whether a certain album is the First Of Its Kind to do a specific thing. I've been generally rating based on my personal enjoyment of the music (should have ranked coldplay lower. and the german industrial music.) but I don't know! Is that fair of me? To tie it in to the actual review of this album--I thought Bug was just alright. But apparently, according to their Spotify blurb, the band was "largely responsible for returning lead guitar to indie rock", which sounds really impressive. Maybe if I was listening to this in 1988 I would have been blown away by the use of guitar in such a manner. But, sadly, I've heard it before. And I just don't know, man.

I love this album more than I should. It’s so hard to branch out to other albums by the band when this nugget of perfection is so satisfying to revisit.

Not totally my thing

ehh 2.5 stars for now

One song played slightly differently with different lyrics stretched out to 9 songs. 'Don't' was the exception and although pretty basic on all fronts, it landed...but not as heavily as the others bombed.

Bored now

Honestly a lot more chill than I was expecting these guys to be, also I didn't realize these guys were 80s. I thought they'd be late 90s, but I can definitely see the influence in 90s stuff like grunge or Filter. Great record overall, just not quite what I expected. Favorites: Freak Scene, Pond Song, Don't

Potentially the most unnecessary inclusion on this list yet. Nobody needs to listen to this before or after death

loved this album in college, The Post, Budge, and Freak Scene, which I saw them play live (apparently a rarity) are my favs

A Pleasant surprise, and a new band to dive into! "Don't" RIPS

Listened driving to and from work. There's something about late 80s, early 90s alt and indie rock that just tickles the happy parts of my lizard brain. Absolutely loved it, until it got to Don't and it really spoiled the whole thing for me. I genuinely have no idea what they were thinking with that track, and to have it as the original closer. Just baffling to me and cost this album a 5 start rating. Excited to hear more from them!

it was fine i got kinda bored

Good stuff, got a bit screamy but all round good.

Solid grunge album

Album Review 082 Bug by Dinosaur Jr. (1988) Rating 4/5 Lovely warm fuzzy fuzzy muffness. Yum.

One of those albums where the influence on future records can definitely be heard, but I just don't think it stands the test of time, and just isn't that enjoyable of a listen personally.

globally a good album, some songs can be a bit quite annoying but there's some nice guitar, nice pedal effects and melodies. Yeah we know 3.5

Has got me interested in Dinosaur Jr. Some very strong moments on here but just falls short of a 4. Will listen to some of their other stuff. 3.5

One of my favorites of all time. Just raw and whiny in a good way if that’s possible.

This is a fun album and other than Freak Scene I didn't know most of the songs. Favorite songs: Freak Scene, They Always Come, Pond Song

This is not as bad as its predecessor, but still...

Some of the music was great, but a lot of it was grating. Don't like this particular type of singing either. There were a couple of songs that I really liked, and that's just about made the album worthwhile.

awful

It’s cacophonous, it’s imperfect, and I do like it. Some songs are more song-y, some are more noisy. Track 1 was solid, and if the rest of the album followed its quality, this would have been an easy 4 stars. Still, a deserving entry, something I may revisit, and which I’m glad to have heard before I die. Dinosaur Jr.’s influence on grunge is apparent, and that alone is worth something.

Before: This is a decent album. I used to listen to it some back then. One of my roommates' had it. I have 3 tracks on my best of 1988 list which consists of 80 songs altogether. I'll probably give it a 4. During: It's between 3 an 4. After: Leaning towards a 4, I'll be generous and give it a 4.

Bug opens with Freak Scene, Dinosaur Jr.'s best song and one of the great indie rock singles of all time. It's pure magic. No other song on Bug or any Dinosaur Jr album is as great as Freak Scene but at least on Bug every single song hits and hits hard. Bug is fucked up and perfect. Neurotic and strangely calming/soothing. Bug feels like a warm summer night spent skinny dipping and eating pizza with your friend it also feels like the aftermath of a storm or at least a good cry. J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.'s frontman) has gone on record more than once stating how Bug is his least favorite Dinosaur Jr album - only God knows why- everything that makes for an essential indie rock album can be found on Bug.

le tengo más cariño al you're living all over me y como sí está en la lista le guardo el cinco pero brutal. y lindo. decíamos el otro día, todxs queremos ser j mascis

Meh

To me, this album sounded like something between punk rock and Shoegaze, not as drone as something like my bloody valentine, but it still has that quality of the vocals sneaking through a wall of guitar distortion. The last track was an unexpected change of pace, it sounded more heartfelt like a Beatles song, so I appreciated the versatility. Overall, this was decent 5/10

Not really my cup of tea. Track 9, in particular: who needs that? (lol) So, between a 2 and a 3 for me, and I guess I lean slightly toward 2. (As an aside, I like band member Lou Barlow's spin-off band, Sebadoh, somewhat better.) Trying to think of something else to say about this one. Was kind of a fresh sound, I guess, at the time. If they'd had a better Track 9, might have been a 3, but, as is, I'm sticking with a 2.

Track #9 "Don't" was my favorite for leaning into the mess, and the transition to Track #10 is a funny contrast. While I appreciate some of the guitar work, and I imagine it was pretty cool in '88, once you've heard a few high school bands it's hard to be impressed by this sound. There isn't enough contrast. My ears get lost in the wash of guitar distortion

1001 Gen hat so viele Rock-Alben wow Erster Song ganz cool, aber nicht so special

Kinda liked some of this

not bad not bad dinos

Not as good as 'You're Living All Over Me.' But you could say that about a lot of things.

+Freak Scene

Surprised to learn this was released in 1988 - seems to predict the 90s. 3 - deserves to be on this list

78. nice

Despite my typical aversion to songs that feature screaming, I really like this album! This'll show my age, but I had never heard of Dinosaur Jr. before getting this album, so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the album. It's not my favorite album I've been assigned on this list, but it's certainly up there!

I love Dinosaur Jr. ever since I heard "Feel the Pain" on Rock Band and Guitar Hero. This album starts with "Freak Scene", which while being its best song was also one blink-182 covered on their first ever record. Mascis' guitar playing seem unreal at times, his solos are absolutely nuts. "Don't" is a funny ending I love it. Batshit noise

That was something

I thought I was going to enjoy this more than I did.

Hit me like discount Green Day. And then discount Incubus. Or discount Nirvana. It might have preceded all of those. But a lesser iteration, in my opinion. Didn't like the screamo track.

Not sure why this is on the list, there's not much to it though it does feel like a precursor to emo rock (I never had an emo phase). The compositions are fine but nothing stand out here. Also seems like at the end they remembered they were meant to be a screamo band.

this album caught me at the right time because i loved it. the guitars were great. 4 / 5 stars

I like old Dinosaur Jr quite a bit. J Mascis is probably not actually one of my guitar heroes, but he’s not far off. Anyway, I saw Dinosaur Jr in the probably late 2000’s with the original lineup. No lie, it was the absolute most boring show I’ve ever sat through, which is crazy cause I like the band. I’m still not sure how they managed to pull that off. I don’t have super high standards either. Like, play your songs and just show the bare minimum of interest in being there, and we’re good. But I’ve never seen someone look so bored and pissed that they had a platform to play their own songs. It felt like the audience had annoyed him with their presence. It was honestly impressive how bad that show was, and I will never willingly sit through a Dinosaur Jr show again. All that is to say that this is a pretty great record. Very Dinosaur Jr-y. It will never be recreated live, unfortunately. But I do like j mascis when he gets over his butthurt long enough to put something down on record. He can fuck off in real time though. 7/10

My first thought was that there was a very cool contrast between the noisy loud guitars and clean vocals. Then the last song comes in with the vocalist screaming and it's just so powerful! Awesome album.

Was not a fan! Never heard of them before and likely won’t recall this.

Hard rock bruyant saturé

Pfff… je me suis fait chier honnêtement ça va dans tous les sens J’aurais sans doute apprécié à une époque ou alors mieux en concert

Sympa mais sans plus, du rock assez basique

Favorite Track: Let It Ride

2.5

I do like a bit of grunge, and I also like Dinosaur Jr. maybe I just wasn’t into it today but nothing really stuck out for me. The Dynamics are really flat. They got better after this album in my opinion.

guter indie-rock, melodiös mit gitarre, bass und schlagzeug. schon der erste song Freak Scene gefällt.

Kerniger Gitarrenrock. Etwas eintönig.

OK

another album found by the List Creator from the $1.99 discount bin. I found nothing redeeming

I am a fan of many bands in the genre, this is my first Dinosaur JR album that I have listened to front to back. It's pretty good, not the best this genre has to offer but it definitely belongs umoung it's peers.

good album length and cool instrumentals highlights: No Bones, They Always Come

A good album of the time but ending with Don’t really leaves a rough finish,

4/5 Roque como meio para expressar sentimento. Visceral.

Was thinking of giving this a four but then “Don’t” came on. Jeez. That song should replace “Mother” by The Police as the quintessential example of an abrasive, out-of-place song, sung by a member who is not the lead singer, on an otherwise classic album by an 80s trio (that’s overly specific of me). Other than that misstep, this album was good.

70/100. A solid alt and noise rock record. I still prefer You’re Living All Over Me, but this works well as a follow up and keeps that same raw energy intact. Rough around the edges in a good way.

This was brilliant. Having only heard Feel the Pain by this band, I wasn’t expecting this to be as heavy as it was. No complaints from me, this is a new instant favourite.

Really good album

I’m surprised by how much i enjoyed this

Kinda generic rock, kinda not my genre. Quite forgettable.

It is crazy to find comfort in so much noise. "Bug" shows Dinosaur Jr. leaning further in to more wild studio decisions than their previous two records, all atop songs that are just catchy enough (save for "Freak Scene", which is structurally over-simple but wholly infectious). Part of the comfort buried in "Bug" comes from J. Mascis's meandering-folk inspired songwriting. The repetition in agile lick-studded strumming gives plenty of harmonic weight, while not falling apart under the greasy patina of distortion, flanger, wah, and spring reverb. The electricity is piled on high. The last rounds of "They Always Come" has an overt inclusion of a slow rhythmic sweeping clang that might be just hitting a spring reverb equipped amp. The effect is jarring, but the commitment to the bit ends up being one of the album's many, hilarious, "what in the actual fuck?" moments. There's also an unlikely comfort in J.'s "I don't really care but I'll do it anyways" vocals. He carries the melodies. They are warm. "Let it Ride", in particular evokes Peter Frampton pop, with rapid fire major-seventh chords and a chorus repeated return to a breezy bent-note vocal inflection. Even the sludgefest "Don't", in an attempt at being the most boneheaded Troggs-like heavy rock ever, comes off with enough good-nature humor that you might actually stick around for the whole six minute pounding to get to the punchline at the end. In a head-scratching cry-laughing climax, the sonic wailing drops out and the drums recede to sounding like they are suddenly in the back of a kitchen cupboard. I could have taken my reward for simply being done with this dumb-macho demonstration, except the band kicks back in, full force, with the songs repeated refrain. Instead of pleading for approval, "Why don't you like me?", I'm now being mocked by the band for liking this punishment enough to stick around. I've been a Dinosaur Jr. fan for a long time. Aside from the easy access of "Freak Scene" and the walled up boulder of "Don't" the album has been one of the less memorable ones for me, and far from being among my favorites. There was a renewal in yesterday's close listening that showed me the daring humor and tenderness in the album that hadn't landed on me before. "Bug" is a classic of indie rock for being a watershed moment of noise rock. It is polished insanity that's just inviting enough to trap you in some very spicy honey.

Fucking banging album. 5 stars

Starts grungy, ends noisy. Not bad, not great.

might just be me but it feels too forced, lyrics and sound and singing overall sound like they are trynna be different

Jangly and dancey. Not as good as some of their later records but the juice is there.

Man, I think I really just hate indie music.

3.5/5 I like the sound and they were very before their time. Many of the artists and albums I enjoy were influenced by Dinosaur Jr. That said, the whininess kills me.

I was constantly confused, it felt like a 2000s band covering 90s grunge w/ a 70s twist. Not bad :)

More English punk

Borderline un-listenable in parts but I made it to the end somehow

Nice

Feral and unscripted genius

As much as I see this as a step down from You're Living All Over Me, it's still a good record. Jay Mascis' vocals are no longer hidden by walls of sound, which can be a good thing and a bad thing, but for the most part, the quality is still high on Bug. I enjoy that the band is still noisy, and not too much has changed, but a certain charm is definitely missing. Regardless, a great record.

I'm from a time a place where I'm supposed to like Dinosaur Jr. But I don't really.

honestly, no pixies

Thumbs up. I've been listening to Dinosaur Jr (and J. Mascis's solo work) since the 90s. This one was new to me, being before I first heard them. Maybe could have done without "Don't", but otherwise a great album.

I can't really say I have ever listened to any Dinosaur Jr. I enjoyed it enough. I really enjoyed the track Don't! I think if more of the album was in this style, it would have been 4 stars!

I liked the energy but didn't really love the vocals. That one track where it was yelling almost got me to drop a star, but it kinda saves itself part way?

It's surprisingly good rock; sure, the distorted guitar can get a little wild sometimes, but its all part of the ride.

2.5/5. Didn’t do a lot for me especially when thinking of other Dinosaur Jr. albums such as “you’re living all over me.” Which is a shame because I typically quite like late 80’s/early 90’s indie rock.

Enjoyed this more than You're Living All Over Me, felt more fleshed out and the drumming on this album was fantastic. Feels like an album that I should have listened to long ago.

J Mascis is one of those artists who seems to have been releasing the same record for 30+ years, but because that record is so good, it really doesn’t matter. Freak Scene was my introduction to the band back in the late 80s - it still sounds magnificent, and like something that could’ve come out last week. Alongside bands like Pixies, Buffalo Tom, etc this is the stuff that helped shape my tastes in my late teens and continues to resonate.

Freakscene was one of around half a dozen songs which I would say really captured me and got me on the lifelong path of "indie" / alternative whateveryouwanttocallit music. Hearing that again (it's been a little while) was both a little nosalgic and also a blast of what what the kids today might call a banger (expect I'm out of date with that too) but I was surprised how many of the other songs on this album I also remember vividly, but then there are some fabulous indie rock songs here. What a refreshing blast of drawly vocals and guitar-led ear cleaning. Fabulous.

I loved the BAND and their sound, but not the singer so much.

Got weirder at the last song

Good noise. Enjoyed it as a nice change of pace from the mediocre albums we've been getting hit with.

The sad boy vocals might not be for everyone or every day but that sound it's built on. It's got intricate layers, dynamic range and so much movement. A good influence on the emo-rock to follow.

Paraphrasing, but I read somewhere, can't remember where now, that Dinosaur Jr. were the grim reapers of '80s music. I'd say even moreso than groups like The Pixies and Fugazi, this album was the '90s and early '2000s indie and alternative rock sounds way before the fact; it's nothing short of impressive. And a messy presentation with glimmers of beauty in these walls of distorted guitars goes a long way in making this feel more warm than abrasive. And there's nothing more '90s alt than the lead vocals here, courtesy of J Masics, who does this mumbled, whiny thing that'll go on to become a staple in the genre. I hear a lot of Pavement and Built to Spill, specifically in these vocals. There are some genuinely incredible songs here, 'Freak Scene', 'No Bones', and 'Pond Song' specifically. And 'The Post' had some really neat guitar work, especially in that screechy solo halfway through, and 'Don't' was such a harrowing turn for the album - an utterly insane tsunami of feedback and cacophony that still manages to work so well in the generally fuzzy mix here. I do think a good chunk of the songs here ultimately feel like a rudimentary take on the alt-rock sounds that would go on to get fleshed out in the '90s. But still, all that considered, this was pretty damn good.

Nice sounding 80s Alt Rock

#245/1001. A band that is angrier than Nirvana for one song and less angry in 9 songs.

Pretty good, up there with silverchair, pumpkins, nirvana, etc. Missed them in my youth.

I liked Freak Scene and Pond Song, but the rest of the album I found either just okay or annoying, with Don't being physically painful to listen to.

Generally a D Jr fan, but this one didn’t do it for me. 2.5

4/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/dinosaur-jr/bug/ Banger solos, kinda awful singing, yet it works!

Lou Barlow's vocals take Dino Jr from good to great. This lineup of the band is the only one I'm interested in listening to.

I’ve listened to this album a lot over the past decades and I love it. For entirely personal reasons “No Bones” always reminds me of the lengthening days of spring, and that alone would earn a five star rating from me, but there’s so much more here. Dinosaur Jr is for me by far the best of the guitar-heavy alt rock bands of the 90s.

I have always liked Dinosaur Jr and have their debut album in my stash of dusty stuff I like to pull out on occasion. I see them as a very specific sort of genre for me: apres-ski. It is not early morning pre-ski, but the stuff that comes afterwords, the grungy bands that play overfilled mountainside ski resort clubs. I see them in this role. That said, they are a bit hot and cold, and while I do like them, I don't think they ever got "next level." While I do enjoy this apres-ski sort of genre, I think it helps if it sort of grows past that. In other words, that is the genre I love to DISCOVER a band, with the hope it will become something more later. With DJ I feel that they kind of stayed the same.

This album is really let down by the lead vocals. Get a halfway competent singer and we’re looking at a 4+.

Very enjoyable. I listened to their first two albums before checking this one out. At the beginning of this album I was starting to get a bit disappointed because it felt like Bug was _not_ going to be as adventurous as You're Living All Over Me. However, before finishing my listening session, I saw the-bright-spots-of-2025's review of this album where they mentioned "Don't came on and I really struggled with making it through that song" and that's when I got really excited. I've found that if bright-spots explicitly mentions something they disliked in their review, there will be a 90% chance I abslutely love that specific aspect. In this case, that was (brightly) spot on - the song Don't is the magnum opus of the album. Chaotically evil, distorted noise that conveys raw emotions that I felt was lacking on the rest of the album. It was the adventure that I was seeking after listening to their other albums, that specific flavor of noise rock that aims to annihilate anything and everything.

I enjoyed this more than I expected. I find that sometimes I enjoy the crunchy guitars and buzziness and I can't fully explain why

I've always wanted to like Dinosaur Jr because they are suppose to fit so cleanly into my portfolio of 80s/90s slacker rock / indie rock trailblazers, often referenced in similar conversations as the Pixies, Built to Spill, Pavement, etc. This album is the best I've heard so far from them, but there are still some crucial elements missing. They don't have the lyrical mastery or riveting guitar work of Pavement or Built to Spill, the novelty or excitement of the Pixies, and the vocals are flat without being balanced out sonically like Pavement. Maybe this is too slacker for me, or maybe I just expect too much from one of my favorite genres/eras of music. - 3/5

This was definitely good, but didn't strike me as remarkable at all, except that it's a decade before anyone else was doing this kind of sound. 3.5 Rounding down because I'm too nice.

I thought this was just fine, a bit generic, but by no means terrible. But then Don't came on and I really struggled with making it through that song.

Truthfully wasn't a huge fan of this album. I think it was one of those "you had to be there" things. But it wasn't bad, just wasn't gripping.

I know i should like it but it was a bit whiny and bland for me

As one part of alternative rock super group Houmous & Chutney, I really appreciate what dinosaur jr have tried to do here. 3.4 7/10 Budge

Too much of this album is so bad that the rest doesn't matter. 1 star or F.

7,9

If the only song you heard on here was Don't, you did not get a representation of what they are but what they can do. That song is a ball of anger, noise & angst. The rest is Noise rock but it's incredibly melodic. I can't put my finger on whom the lead singer sounds like. I was thinking Scott Lukas of Local H. I was just bopping and rocking out to this amazing album. 4

It’s a very generic, noisy indie rock album. I feel like I've already heard it 10 times during this challenge because it lacks any real uniqueness. It reminds me of 1977 by Ash. I only enjoyed the first track and nothing more. Looking back, I don’t remember anything from the album except the opening song. I’ll be generous and rate it… 2/5 —————————————— Liked: — Freak Scene

Classic Dino Jr, if you love it, you love it. If you hate it, you probably won't ever not hate it. Personally I love the big chunky riffs, and J Mascis' voice brings such a unique element that makes them immediately distinguishable from any other comparable music. The fact this came out in the late 80s is wild, these guys definitely had an early inside track on the music of the next decade. I had never listened to Bug before outside of maybe hearing Freak Scene once or twice. It's a good album, definitely not quite to the level of better albums like Without a Sound, Where You Been, and You're Living All Over Me, but this is a consistently good listen. Some highlights for me were Freak Scene, Let it Ride, and Pond Song. Only song I didn't care for as much was Don't, never loved their screamier songs. Definitely worth a listen if you love killer rhythm guitar work and a dirtier grungy overall sound, but I'd recommend some of their other work first.

Oikein menevää mutta melko tasapaksua. Jos tänkin kuuntelis toisen kerran niin saattaisi pisteitä ropista enempi

Ihan nevahööd, paljon yhtäläisyyksiä useisiin ysärin rämpytysbändeihin joten lykätään kolkki, vaikkei tämä omaa viisaria saanut värähtämään

Soundimaailma särkee korvia, piti kahdeksannen biisin kohdalla jättää levy kesken.

Nonii täähän ol ilonen ylläri. Aikanaan tullut kuunneltua ja livenäkin nähnyt pariin otteeseen. Varmaan se tätä edeltävä levy on omaan mieleen viel parempi. Sillai tää pumppu toi tohon altsuernuskeneen omanlaistaan ilmettä kasarilla ja innotti sitten myöhempiä pändejä. Hyvää kitaransuristusta ja eksoottisen laiskaa narinalaulua. Suurimmassa osassa biiseistäkin semmosta orastavaa poppishenkee, ettei oo pelkkää puuronsyöntiä. Virallinen päätösraita kuulostaa samalta kun mitä ite ois voinut nauhotella jossain reeniksen nurkassa niin ei vihti täysii antaa ja jos sielt se edeltävä viel paukahtaa kuunteluun (todnäk suurimman osan kauhuks) niin säästää sille vitkua.

Ihan hyvää perusrokkia. Bändin nimi oli entuudestaan tuttu, mutta jostain syystä luulin sen operoineen joskus vuosituhannen taitteessa. Pidemmän päälle ehkä vähän tylsä levy, mutta onneksi pituus oli ihan sopiva.

2.5/5

Clearly an influence for some of the modern day punk/grunge/emo I listen to outside of this challenge, but doesn’t connect for me. I could do without the full song of incomprehensible yelling. I appreciate what they were doing, but I won’t be listening again

I love that my kiddo loves this. Is fine, but not something I would intentionally put on. 3/5

Not a bad album, Freak Scene is a tune. Took a couple of listens to get onboard.

Hard to get through, the vocals are oppressively bad.

There is some good guitar here, but some parts of this album genuinely hurt to listen to.

Very good arrangement of songs in the album.

The whiniest lead singer voice I’ve encountered since being forced to listen to Simple Plan as a teenager. This album is not for me.

i think if i’d listened to this at a different time in my life i would’ve really enjoyed it

Look they’re a good band and I suppose they belong here. Should have given the Isley brothers 5. Now I don’t about these guys. 3 .5

In the late 80s, when I was a teenager, Tim and I were pretty inseparable. We used to hang out a lot in our suburban bedrooms listening to music and occasionally going out to see all-ages punk and hardcore shows. Tim was a skateboarder, but I was never sufficiently coordinated or brave to learn. Tim once told me that he suspected he was listening to too much hardcore when he heard Dinosaur Jr's cover of 'Just Like Heaven' on the radio and thought it was the Cure (at least until the huge roar comes in at the end of the song). We did end up listening to quite a bit of Dinosaur Jr as a result -- Bug and You're Living All Over Me were among the great guitar noise albums of the late 80s (see also: Daydream Nation, Isn't Anything, Surfer Rosa to an extent). Pitchfork described Dinosaur jr. as "a pop-noise outfit with a panzer attack and a heart of gold. ... If they lumber, it's a tuneful lumbering. They discovered the sweet spot between Black Sabbath and the Buzzcocks, which every carpetbagging grunge chancer (and one or two geniuses) took to the mall a few years later." I know we saw Dinosaur Jr on their 1989 Australian tour. My memory was that was in the student bar at Macquarie Uni, but I can't see a record of them ever playing there. More likely it was at the Lansdowne Hotel (a regular haunt of ours) or the Paddington RSL. I do remember that they were loud as fuck and J Mascis didn't seem overwhelmed to be there. Being young at the time, I don't think I realized how revolutionary this sound was. The way it used a lot of 70s folk- and classic-rock tropes, but filtered through a heavy layer of punk rock, made it one of the first proto-grunge records and was clearly highly influential on shoegaze, especially the way J. leaned on that wah pedal, using it as a broad filter rather than an expression effect like Jimi Hendrix. I copied that particularly trick myself in the terrible band I played in during the 90s. And I was seeing a lot of really noisy alternative Australian bands (including a foray into the Evil Star Hotel scene of Black Eye Records bands; Lubricated Goat, Munroe's Fur, Kiss My Poodle's Donkey, Box the Jesuit, Thug, etc), so the heavy noise factor didn't seem that unusual to me. It was a pretty good record that we played a fair bit, and Tim and I thought it was kinda normal. I know we listened to Bug and You're Living All Over me at the time, but they weren't my all-time favourite records, mostly because J. Mascis' laconic deadpan drawl is kind of annoying (although this album is a bit less drawled than Living All Over Me). Truth be told, I own the Fossils 10" compilation (which has a couple of songs from each of these two albums plus Just Like Heaven), and I feel like that is all the Dinosaur Jr I will ever need to own. Maybe the best Dinosaur Jr song is the one you are listening to RIGHT NOW. It's more about the excitement of the moment, the roar of the amps, the surge of noise, the wild lead guitar. But there are a few really great songs on here (Freak Scene, Let It Ride, Keep the Glove). Totally worth a listen.

This is so 2000s losercore I can't believe it's 80s. I can see some emo with a striped layered shirt jamming tf out to this. I'm liking it too. I love making observations like that because it shows me how little I actually know about music it's funny. This could be so quintessentially 80s and I would never know lol. I'm liking it though. Yeah I don't know what to say about this one not a lot of variety across the album but it's pretty short so that makes sense, it's just emo rock and I like it. Yeah no particular strong feelings about this one. Favourite: No Bones Least favourite: Let It Ride

Ok to pretty ok at times. But Don’t is a terrible track. That and a few other noise sections might drop this to a 2 for me.

Most of this is ok but a little too rough around the edges for my tastes. Second to last track was actually bad and hard to listen to.

Excellent

I feel its still an underrated band even after influencing a whole generation. This album in particular is wierd cause it has some real hardcore punk as well as some commercial crappy pop punk. I guess a fan base gets a record deal and a record deal comes commercial middle ground which is understanable.

This album was great. A bit grunge, a bit punk, a bit rock. It wish I'd known this band when I was more into those genres. Very glad to have listened!

About time I listened to some more Dinosaur Jr. Favorite track: They Always Come 3.5/5

This sound takes me back to the 90’s for sure. Other than that, there were no standout songs on this album. They all kind of started to sound like noise after a while. (3)

4.5 stars Man this shit rocks! I knew Dinorsaur Jr. I’ve listened to You’re Living All Over Me. But I’ll admit that I was been crazy about them. Like they’re good but they’re not my favorite. And they are the framework for some of my favorite music and bands of all time. But anyway, Bug is good. It’s not perfect. First time threw it kind of washed over me. The last song is a dud. Reminded me of Sebadoh… which I didn’t like. But it’s good shit I’ll blast for sure.

Didn’t hate it, but found it to be a bit generic sounding. Bit noisy for me.

Not bad, might give it another listen. Like I said last time we had an album by Dinosaur Jr - I feel like I should have liked this more than I did

Songs mostly sounded the same to me; too scream-y

When you want to be in a rock band but not appear like you care about being in a rock band

At first I was a bit perplexed, to me it sounded much like other bands and nothing that special. But I spent the day with it, and gave multiple listen, and I came out with a changed mind. I don't think it's revolutionary still, but it is so well made that it is hard to really dislike. I also love that it covers multiple genres and style of music, it has legs. So yes not ground breaking still, but so damn solid there isn't anything I dislike about it anymore.

I thought the music was pretty good. Nothing that blew me away. However, it did feel very forward looking. I would have thought this was a mid to late 90s record. This feels like it was probably a major influence on what alt rock would become in the 90s. Undeniably influential to Cobain. I’ll give an extra half star for that. 3.25/5

Meh

There were some very specific parts of this that i enjoyed and thought were listenable. And then there was the rest of it.

I like Dinosaur Jr. but have never been able to fully get into them. I have seen them live and listened to a few albums but they just don't do it for me. I definitely appreciate all they have done for modern indie rock. Although, my favorite J Mascis band is Witch and he plays drums in that band. Great band and great album but just not for me.

Feels like album from the mid-90's but yet it came out in 1988. These guys were definitely ahead of their time on what would be popular. 4.5 bumped up to 5.

I’m at a 5. I think it's a really good follow-up to "You're Living All Over Me", which was already a pretty damn good album. I also think it’s a concept album. It’s certainly loose, and there’s not really characters by name or anything, but these all feel connected, telling a story about someone slowly losing a grip on their friendships, relationship, & reality until a total breakdown. “Freak Scene” is about wanting a relationship, but just knowing it won’t work based on either an established friendship or an established reputation. It’s shockingly honest in its last verse, and I think the texturing of the guitar sets the instrumental tone for the album well. The nonchalant vocals to start the entire album here only make the vocals in the last track punch that much harder. “No Bones” is just that – it’s the protagonist’s spinelessness coming through, with his inability to establish that relationship he really wants. The guitar here does a good job of showing that mental struggle, even if it overstates its point by going way too fucking loud. It bounced off of me on a first pass, but it does thematically fit with the album. “They Always Come” is a little bit hard to parse, but I think it’s about a deeper, darker, more sinister self that comes out whenever the influence of alcohol comes to roost. The lines about “drying for it” & how a “mound of smack” won’t satiate something, along with “all the steps taken to hide me”... it sure reads like someone whose demons will fully consume them if allowed to come out. They sure seem like they’re out by the end of the album; they always come. The guitar work here does a really good job of showing the emotional push / pull. “Yeah We Know” feels like it’s an effort to really make that relationship from earlier stick, given the line “got to find a way to mend”, whilst acknowledging that the longer it goes unreciprocated, the more those demons might come out, with lines like “Feel the skin begin to scar / Can't really pull it together / About to crack”. Instrumentally though, it’s just kind of a vibe. “Let It Ride” strikes me as an attempt to get back in the good graces of someone after a lot of beef between them, asking them to let it slide & to let their friendship ride. Whether or not it’s about the primary romantic relationship at hand here or another friendship, I can’t say, but it’s a good conflicting emotion to showcase on a track. I’m not sure if it succeeded or not, but that ambiguity in the air lends itself to a sort of paranoia that helps the unhinged spiral continue. Instrumentally, I think it just sounded really good. “Pond Song” feels like the full & proper rejection of the romantic relationship. He’s insistent about giving it “my last crack”, asking her to jump on the wave, and all of her hesitations about it lead him to realize her feelings are way more complex. When he says “needs a way to keep it simple”, he decides he has to turn down the relationship himself, rejecting that last “reach in”. The percussion gives the track a nice indie tone, and one that feels a little ahead of pace for 1988. “Budge” is a drug song. They’re doing weed & speed and everything else; whether or not the two people in the track are him & the friend on “Let It Ride” or the “other self” from “They Always Come” is irrelevant – he’s doing drugs again. It’s only a matter of time. The stoner-y vibe to the vocals & the instrumental energy gives a weird sort of Malcolm in the Middle vibe that I just vibed with. “The Post” is an alcohol song. He’s drinking again. He eyed it (the bottle), he dried it, he untied it, he chilled it, he spilled it, he refilled it, he paced around, he traced it (redid his drink), & he erased it (threw away the bottle). They always come. The overblown guitar really gives off a nice sense of the depression present at this point. “Don’t” is visceral. It’s very discomforting, but in a way that’s super fascinating, with the sound design of the guitars & percussion & the underlying demonic growl in his voice releasing a frustration into the world that not even Trent Reznor was able to reach on “The Downward Spiral”. There’s a point at the 4:30 mark where all the guitars disappear, to just leave him to his own thoughts, before devolving into utter chaos for the finale. I think it works incredibly well. As an album closer, it feels depressing, yet inevitable. They always come. “Keep The Glove”, however, feels like it could work as an ending all the same. It’s a bonus track, but I choose to interpret it as a dream that comes after the alcoholic events of “Don’t”, one in which the romance he was looking for is still about to end (probably through cheating), but at least he was able to experience it, & asking her to remember him. The last minute being a total cacophony though feels like the dream melting away, & it just feels like a heartbreaking ending. They ALWAYS come. The thing that elevates this album even higher, at least from what I’ve read, is that these tracks are meant as an allegory for the band’s deteriorating relationship at the time. Dinosaur Jr.’s initial lineup would split apart by their next album, with their bassist, Lou Barlow, leaving the band. If this album is meant to be a sort of therapy session between the group, then it makes the ending tracks of the album hit even harder, knowing that the simple, vital question of “Why don’t you like me?” would stay unanswered. I understand that my interpretation isn’t definitive, but it feels like a really strong framing device, & there’s certainly at least a loose connection between all of these tracks. I think the floor is a 3 if it just hurts the ears from an instrumental standpoint (entirely understandable), but I’m at a 5 because… I dunno, it just feels like an extremely cohesive album, written & created despite some kind of deep-seated pain, ala Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”. I might even be higher after writing all of this out, though I don’t think I’d get to a 10. I really enjoyed it, and I’m glad it’s on the list; they certainly shut me up after wondering why they had 2 albums here.

It was fine. Pretty standard late 80's/early 90's alternative. Between The Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. and a few others, they were indie rock before it was indie rock. Nothing stands out as amazing, but I don't hate it.

Sounds like early versions of music I'd eventually like, but for now, it's forgettable

Deliciously noisy without losing melody. I can tell this is super influential on lots of the bands I love.

'Sometimes I don't thrill you / Sometimes I think I'll kill you.' Dinosaur Jr. is a slacker headache, which doesn't mean it's only languorous noise, tho it does mean that what predominates is the outcry of folk who care and make their problems felt thru their instruments rather than their vocals. J Mascis doesn't sing - Lou Reed is more a singer than the Amherst native. He's not even a talker or a moaner: he appears to produce sounds from his mouth b/c someone told him to. Even on 'Don't,' which features a let-loose J, the guitars and drums are heavier. He's almost a great lyricist - 'Not sure now what's left inside me / So I've taken to napping' - but what I get out of this thing, which I admire but do not love, is a taste for instrumental blowups.

Quite liked it, clearly from the pre-autotune era

Fun beats but kind of an irritating voice

7/10 Top slacker rock, apart from Don't, which I didn't enjoy

Forgettable.

One of my childhood bands - although like Nirvana I really struggle going back to these albums. Not Dino Jr's best work but it obviously has the mighty Freak Scene.

Since listening to this album yesterday, I have become a Dinosaur Jr. fan. "Bug" is up there with "Doolittle" as one of the best 80's alt-rock albums. However, this album isn't as good as the albums I gave 5 stars to. The opening track, "Freak Scene", is my favourite on "Bug". What a great start to the week. 4 stars for "Bug".

Alternative Rock, 1988 -> 2

I liked the overall vibe, but the production was a little rougher than I prefer.

Lärmschrott.

Sometimes I don't thrill you Sometimes I think I'll kill you Just don't let me fuck up will you 'cause when I need a friend it's still you

a high 2 but didn't really grip me

I've seen Dinosaur Jr live and have been listening to them for around 30 years, but still don't quite get them. I know they're a LOUD live band, and lots of people rank them as their loudest concert ever. This album gives me "Doolittle" by Pixies vibes for time and early, raw grunge rock. The guy's voice gives me Grouplove vibes & Christian is the only performer that's ever given me Cobain vibes. Influential album but falls flat for me without knowing all the songs & riffs yet.

It was ok. I preferred the noisier tracks.

i got 2 dinosaur.jr albums back to back what are the chances my complaint about the last album carries over to this one. MAKE. THE. VOCALS. WORSE.

I was feeling pretty meh about this one, and then right at the end it starts screaming at me, and I just wasn't in the mood.

I want to like Dinosaur Jr but so little stands out to me. They are fine in a playlist format but listening to just this band can feel repetitive at times.

I liked these songs but jesus the vocals were bad!! 3 ⭐️

It was ok

Once again, British alt-rock just isn't my favorite sound. A couple songs I would throw on now and again, but nothing too crazy. Favorite Track: The Post

Great indie band. Again I like other albums more but JMascis is a great guitarist and songwriter. The last song is kinda of a let down

Excellent album!

2.5

Dinosaur Jr. is just great - I have enjoyed listening to them since starting this 1001 project.

I really wish I knew why this album is so obsessed with noise rock. I'm at 491 out of 1001, and I bet we've had 50-60 noise rock albums that are just... wall of sound noise through many of their tracks. This was not fun to listen to. While maybe less true noise rock than most of the others, it still just felt like too much.

Like a much worse Home or Hudson Bell. Equally sloppy and a little lo-fi. Underdeveloped, even undeveloped. I found this really hard to listen to, surprisingly so, considering that it's just noise rock and just a bit more than white noise.

Solid indie rock offering. Nothing too spectacular but nothing bad either. Favorite track: Yeah We Know

Reminds me a bit of early Ash. But a bit more whiney and not really too taken by it as a result. Urgh, yeh, done with this after the third track. Whine whine whine.

I know of the band, don't listen to them enough. Pretty rocking. Pretty cool stuff. I dig this. One of the few albums/artists I had never heard from this list and enjoyed.

Sounds out of tune a lot and just noise

Nö, das ist einfach nur Getöse!

Nope. Lead singer ... is just off. I couldn't / wouldn't listen to the whole thing.

Good, not great.

Fuzzy wuzzy.

I don't remember anything standing out from this. Does sound like a 90s Kevin Smith movie in album form.

It's not really my style of music. That being said, it started out ok, the first couple of tracks were decent. It then continued to get progressively worse, until by track 9 I couldn't take it any longer and had to turn it off. I was so close to hearing the full album and awarding 2 stars under my own self-imposed grading system - but fuck that, it's 1 star only and that feels about right!

Quite grungy for 88. Something I totally missed the first time

In a nutshell: show-off. There's a fine line between doing your thing and a flex. J.Mascis does both here. I might come back to this album in a few months. Overall: 3/10

Pretty good. We were traveling, so I didn't get a close listen, but I liked what I heard.

Aight

Some songs get a little too close to noise for me. Overall it's a fun album though.

generally vibey. kinda proto-Pavement, cool skateboard music. when the guitar riffs feel samey and the vocals get stale the album gets a little trying, but then some sick sounds come out and it's back to being dope. definitely some golden tracks on there. favorite song is No Bones, maybe Let It Ride if it was like half as long. solid 3.4/5

Rating: 8/10 Good noisy grungy shit from the late 80’s when alternative rock really started to take root, and bands like Dinosaur were part of growing non-commericial scenes of punk, DIY, distortion and fuzz and raw sounds. I love the bookends of the big standout Freak Scene and the pure noise rock closer Don’t. Lead vocalist isn’t always the best but it’s part of the charm that makes this album

I think it's fine but also I sadly (irrationally) haaate the vocals and just dislike the sound. Droning and mushed together (probably on purpose) and not for me 4/10

Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals), and Murph (drums). After three albums on independent labels, the band earned a reputation as one of the formative influences on American alternative rock. Creative tension led to Mascis firing Barlow, who later formed Sebadoh and Folk Implosion. His replacement, Mike Johnson, came aboard for three major-label albums. Murph eventually quit, with Mascis taking over drums on the band's albums before the group disbanded in 1997. The original lineup reformed in 2005, releasing five albums thereafter. 6 Dragons out of 10 Lizard Wizards

A lot of the music here is solid. I’m just not a fan of the vocals

Несмотря на множество негативных рецензий, данный альбом мне скорее понравился, чем нет. Нойз-гранж, как-то так я бы описал альбом, наверное. Мне затруднительно выбрать оценку, скорее всего это просто "хорошо", ничего здесь не вызвало эмоции "вау, это же просто невозможно" или в таком ключе, пожалуй, кроме 1 песни "No bones", в ней реально что-то интересное есть, что даёт эффект "вау", но я не знаю что это конкретно... в общем - твёрдая 4.

Sort of a pixies sound, but not quite as good on the songs. 2/5

It was fine. Nothing stood out as exceptional and won’t enter rotation but it was fine.

When looking up for photos of Dinosaur Jr., I thought they would be a 'dad rock' type of act. Damn I was mistaken. This is some really cool noise rock and it sounded kind of familiar. It feels like a combination of the noise rock of Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth, the very powerful energy of Nirvana and the smoothness and wall of noise of My Bloody Valentine. The instrumentation is incredibly distorted and loud, to the point that sometimes the vocals get buried underneath it; but I love how this sound adds so much power to the riffs. What is not distorted is the voice. I found it to be very pleasant to listen to, regardless of being a bit out of tune at times. Well, there's actually an exception in which the vocals are not smooth at all. That will be in the closer song "Don't". Nothing prepared me to how raw and emotional is the performance on that track coming from how grotesque the screams from the singer are. It is undoubtedly the most distorted song of them all, and it can be quite disturbing. If we ignore the last track, which I must say is one of my favourites, this album is very fun to listen to.

Definitely an indie/grunge album. There wasn’t much on here that I’d really like to listen to again. Just was definitely the worst offender to the ears, but the rest of average stuff. Keep The Glove I actually did like. It has this mess of noise at the end that actually worked for me. Other than that, just another album.

Average. Crop, not Cream.

Was pretty close to a 4 and then heard "Don't" and now its solidly a 3

I'm familiar with Dinosaur Jr.'s "Where You Been" album, but not this one. This album just isn't grabbing me. If I want to listen to Dinosaur Jr., I'd go with "Where You Been" before this one.

Yeh was alright

I misread what year this came out and when I first started listening I thought "Yeah, this is good but it sounds exactly like a dozen other bands from that time" then I realized it came out a full decade earlier than those bands and I realized this was UR text.

Der erste Song war ganz gut und ich war gespannt. Dann ging es bergab. An manchen Stellen konnte man sich das Ganze kaum noch anhören. Schade.

Intressant und Nicht ewinordner bar. Irgendwas von Mettal ; Rock, Harde Riffs, nicht gerade mein Ding. Jioer ist der alten Musik 1988 geschuldet das hier Elektrogittare lauter ist als der Gesang.. 2/5

Mostly noice rock but much more melodic than expected.

Really enjoyed this. I can definitely see myself listening to this band a lot.

There is a certain charm to this kind of lo-fi noise rock, even if it wears thin after a while. The raw aggression is palpable, even when the recording quality makes it feel like a demo tape rather than a finished product. Spins: 2 Playlist Additions - Freak Scene - No Bones - They Always Come

That last song just kinda ruined the entire thing for me. The first part was really good, but that dragged the entire thing down hard.

3+ Stars (9/15)

First song had me worried, but then it improved a lot

I actually dig this.

Pretty good

I don’t like it

485/1001 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

Decent background music, pretty grunge-y for '88

This is so good. Angsty, full of emotion and vigor.

An absolute blast. I really enjoyed the energy and the talent on show. I read a little more about D Jr's place in the scene and I think I could see myself getting very into them with some more repeated listens. It's a tiny bit indelicate for me to go into the really high marks, but it's still a lot of fun and quite ferocious.

3/5

Much like an impressive fart the instrumentals are great but you’re left dealing with the stench, in this case lyrics and vocals.

An album drier than a cream cracker. Instrumentally sound but in terms of vocals not impressed at all. Almost had to force myself to listen to all 5 mins and 41sec of Don’t.

Never heard of this band or album before. Would describe it as pure electric guitar slop But I actually found it pretty fun

Ass. ‘Don’t’ was genuinely painful to listen to. Never again

Started off strong but had to skip a song when they started considering loud screaming as music at the end.

A few hints at proggy guitar stuff but not that great. Lead singers voice very pitchy.

First Dud - which does Bug me a little. Would rather wipe my arse with sandpaper than listen to the album in its entirety.

Not as great as some of their other releases, but this is great stuff!!

A few standout tracks I'll definitely listen to again. I was aware of this band back when I was a grunge kid, but I don't have any lasting memories of them or their music. I don't mind the vocals, although they do wane over the course of the album. Everything else is good, noisy, just the way I like it.

Bueno

dont know it

Good nineties rock

J Mascis shreds so hard all the time. Love this.

I have no idea how I slid past Dinosaur Jr. for so long. I love Neil Young, and Lou Barlow/Sebadoh, and Built to Spill...there is no reason I wouldn't like this. And yet, every time I had heard a Dinosaur Jr. song I was just "meh" about it. Sitting down and listening to this album from 1987, it is obvious how far ahead of their time they were. Loved it.

Guitar heavy dynamite. Sounds fresh as hell despite being close to 40 years old.

One time I saw them at barricade at Riot Fest in front of J without earplugs. It was the second loudest show of my life behind the time I saw them at barricade at First Avenue in front of J without earplugs. I prefer the sludge on the prior record but this also slaps.

not my favorite Dinosaur album, but still a good listen!

Liked this more than I thought, but I am still just not getting Dinosaur Jr.

noisy and raw, just the way I like it

This is gonna be tough to review. Dinosaur Jr. are one of my most favorite bands. Thing is I already had You’re Living All Over Me here which is their definitive work so I’m not sure if this kind of list needs any more. This is the last album of the classic Dinosaur Jr. lineup, before Mascis made it a solo before they got older and wiser and reformed (and remained awesome just in a new way). Anyway this is the classic Dinosaur Jr. sound. Hardcore punk aesthetic, Neil Youngesque blazing fuzzy soloes and lead lines, Mascis’s acquired taste vocals and a general hollow atmosphere. I love it. In this album Mascis’s singing actually improves (his singing on “Yeah We Know” is not half bad) and we get one of their few hits in Freak Scene. Compared to their previous album I think the band also ventures out a bit more rhythmically. Anyway great album personal fav listen if you like the band.

I know Dinosaur Jr. are icons of the late 90's stoner rock and grunge scene and have had huge influence on alot of bands I love. The songs of theirs I knew before listening to this album I all really liked. I did hear some bits throughout this album that I liked but as a whole it didn't quite click with me. I think I was waiting for a bit more of a hook in each song. Maybe if I have it another go and had a bit more familiarity with the track list I would feel differently but none of these songs really jumped out as singles. As a whole I thought the album was still super cohesive and played well from start to finish - just missing any standout tracks or sounds that would make me stop to appreciate what I was listening to.

Before Dinosaur Jr, you got to choose between a Stratocaster, a Telecaster, or a cheap classical guitar when you wanted to learn guitar. After Dinosaur Jr, the Jazzmaster became one of the most popular choices for a first guitar. Maybe you’d even luck out and your parents could find you a J Mascis signature Squire Jazzmaster. Although, I doubt it because those things get flipped for way too much now. Anyways, this album is just full of fuzzed out, jangly, noisy, early indie rock. Solid album through and through.

interesting. strong grunge vibes. redundant at times, but not terrible.

Like with Sonic Youth, a lot of this is just noises. I like a lot of adjacent music to this but I’m just not into this.

Interesting band and album name. The album takes a wild turn with the song Don’t, what starts as a dirty grungy country vibe turns into straight wailing metal-like screaming. I wouldn’t say it’s my vibe but I don’t hate it. 6/10

I like grunge, but not a fan of noise rock, usually... this one is kind of in between the two, which makes it hard to rate. I think if it wasn't quite as noisy, I would have given it a 4, but overall, I think it's a 3.4.