Dinosaur Jr. Return With New Album There Near And Unleash ‘Several Got Away’

Dinosaur Jr are officially back in album mode.

Legendary American alternative rock outfit Dinosaur Jr have announced their new full length record, There Near, arriving August 28th via Jagjaguwar, while also unveiling its first single and accompanying video, ‘Several Got Away’.

The release marks the band’s sixth studio album since their celebrated reunion era began two decades ago and follows 2021’s Sweep It Into Space.

While fans have had archival releases and assorted collections to bridge the gap in recent years, There Near represents the first proper batch of new Dinosaur Jr material in five years, and from the sounds of the opening preview, they haven’t lost any of their bite.

Dinosaur Jr. ‘Several Got Away’ video

Concept behind the new video

Speaking about the concept behind the new video, director Guy Kozak explained:

“I wanted to do something a little tongue-in-cheek with a kind of ‘backyard movie’ feel that could fit in nicely with the existing canon of Dinosaur Jr. music videos. The first bit of inspiration came from a great Henry Darger painting of kids being terrorised by two giant floating hands of fire. Then I got thinking about the rapture, and it came together from there.”

Recorded across intense sessions at Amherst’s Bisquiteen Studio, the album was largely created by the band’s long-running core lineup: J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph, with additional piano and organ contributions from Ken Mauri.

Mascis also revealed part of the record’s sonic identity came from reconnecting with the past through a vintage amp setup:

“I bought the same amp that Chris Dixon had when we made our first album,” he said.

“Rick Rubin always makes bands he’s producing sit down and listen to their first album and say let’s get back to that sound. So I just gave myself his advice.”

On the lyrics, Mascis added:

“I’m not always sure what a song is ‘about’ when I’m writing it… I think it’s a drag that Spotify shows all the lyrics to a song. What’s the fun of that?”

Dinosaur Jr will support There Near with an extensive North American run from July through November, with Australian dates expected to land further down the line.

Dinosaur Jr ‘There Near’ Track List:

1. Several Got Away
2. No Friends
3. Everything At Once
4. Take Me With You
5. Blowin’ Up
6. Gone Off
7. Clam Along
8. Walk Me Back
9. Read The Room
10. Put It Down
11. No One’s Ready

Pre order here