Dinosaur Jr. Releases First Album in Five Years, ‘There Near,’ Set for August 28

Dinosaur Jr. will release their sixth studio album, *There Near*, on August 28, marking their first album in five years. The record is set to drop via Jagjaguwar. The lead single, “Several Got Away,” is already available, accompanied by a surreal music video directed by Guy Kozak, who drew inspiration from outsider artist Henry Darger’s apocalyptic imagery.

Album Details and Creative Process

The album was recorded in sessions over the course of a year at Bisquiteen Studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, with the band—J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph—joined by local pianist/organist Ken Mauri on select tracks. For Mascis, the project was a deliberate return to the band’s roots. “I bought the same amp that Chris Dixon had when we made our first album,” Mascis said, referring to the 1970s Mesa Boogie MK 1 amplifier used during the band’s early recordings. “It has a real interesting sound I haven’t gotten for a while, and it’s something I was trying to get back to on this album.”

The video for “Several Got Away” features a lo-fi depiction of the Rapture, including “giant flaming hands terrorizing the band,” as Kozak described. The director noted the band’s enthusiasm for the concept, saying, “The guys were really game for it all and I was honored that they let me chase them around a big field with my camera like a psycho.”

Tour Announcements and Co-Headline Dates

Before the fall run, Dinosaur Jr. will perform 17 July co-headlines with Band of Horses, beginning July 10 in Kingston, N.Y. The fall leg of the tour, which will feature headlining dates, starts October 9 in Las Vegas and includes stops in major cities across the U.S., such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and New Orleans. Full tour dates are listed below:

• Oct. 9 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
• Oct. 10 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
• Oct. 11 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up
• Oct. 15 – Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
• Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Bellwether
• Oct. 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Castro Theatre
• Oct. 20 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
• Oct. 22 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
• Oct. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
• Oct. 24 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
• Oct. 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Complex
• Oct. 29 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• Oct. 30 – Fort Collins, CO @ Washington’s
• Nov. 2 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater
• Nov. 4 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues
• Nov. 5 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s
• Nov. 6 – San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
• Nov. 7 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s

Artistic Vision and Band Reflections

Mascis described the creative process as intentionally abstract, noting, “I’m not always sure what a song is ‘about’ when I’m writing it. I’ll use whatever words work. A lot of it will be influenced by whatever esoteric mumbo jumbo I’m reading at the time.” He also criticized Spotify’s lyric feature, calling it “a drag” and arguing, “What’s the fun of that?”

The band’s renewed focus on their signature sound aligns with producer Rick Rubin’s advice to revisit a band’s formative work. Mascis joked, “I just gave myself his advice.”