Dinosaur Jr. - There Near

2026 • JAGJAGUWAR • INDIE ROCK / ALT

79/100

Since 1985, the Amherst, MA trio has been the northstar for any indie rock band who not only desire to play loud, but to play big. During their early run they amassed admiration from noise-loving genre pioneers like My Bloody Valentine and Nirvana. And now nearly 40 years since that album they are still contemporaries of bands influenced by the bands they influenced. We are witnessing greatness watching J Mascis and Co. 40 years deep into their career and still going toe-to-toe with bands whose members were not even born when their most popular song “Feel the Pain” came out.

J Mascis’s incredible guitar playing is, of course, what sticks out on There Near. It’s powerful. It’s virtuosic. His guitar wails and screams like a banshee throughout the record. But even with J Mascis’s distorted guitar taking center stage, this new record is agile and dynamic. Thanks to some incredible work from Barlow and Murph in the rhythm section, the songs on There Near maintain a distinct kinetic energy no matter how loud and unruly things get. Songs like “No Friends” and “Take Me With You” are highlights of this. For a band that puts as much emphasis on being as loud as possible, they take care to not let the songs get lost and washed away.

The two Lou Barlow-led tracks on the record have much more pointed meanings than the more opaque lyrics sung by Mascis. Midway through the record, “Blowin’ Up” has some pretty pointed words for a nameless “bored edgelord”. “When are we blowin’ up/ we’ve waited too long/wanna see blood and guts” Barlow repeats on the chorus. If I were to guess who this is about, let’s say… D. Trump. No, that's too obvious, let's say Donald T. The album closer, “No One is Ready”, feels like a direct sequel, lamenting about how much is left to do in this life when there is so much uncertainty. The two Barlow songs do not fit all that well but I appreciate how they act like codas to each half, showing a different gear from the rest of the record.

Mascis cites acquiring a 70's Mesa Boogie MK 1 amp, the same type of amp used on 1985’s Dinosaur, as a major influence on the direction of the sound of There Near. Their debut features many elements and qualities that would become more polished on future records. For example, On There Near, Album stand out “Gone Off” feels like a distillation to the type of music Dinosaur Jr was making in the 90s on Where You Been and Without A Sound, and also harks back to a song off their debut called “Does It Float”. Like a veteran pickup player, they have a bag of tricks they have developed over time and experience like no one else. 

There Near is another solid album to add to a discography already full of amazing records. They likely will not make another game changing record like You’re Living All Over Me, or make another popular hit like “Feel the Pain” but It is quite comforting that as time goes by, as other bands and scenes and genres come and go, I can always depend on J Mascis and Co to stick to what that do best and make a solid rock record that makes me question the strength of my speakers.

NBA COMP: LEBRON JAMES

Even this late into their career they are still doing what they do best at a very high level. If someone woke up from a 30 year long coma, I would tell ‘em J Mascis and company are still doin’ it.