Chris DeLine

The music video for 1994’s “Feel the Pain” featured members of Dinosaur Jr. cruising around the city in a golf cart, and the music video for 2009’s “Over It” captures the band as they cruise around the city on skateboards and bikes. While lead singer and guitarist J. Mascis finally put the band name to sleep in 1997, after the original lineup had long since disbanded, the videos offer a fairly accurate representation of how much the band’s music has changed in the past 15 years—hardly at all. Formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, some 25 years ago, Dinosaur Jr. is a band that has mastered the art of feedback and remains a catalyst for distortion to this day. After Mascis reunited with bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph in 2005 for a European tour, the band went on to release Beyond in 2007, the first album featuring all three original members since 1988’s Bug. Now having released Farm this past summer on the independent label Jagjaguwar, Dinosaur Jr appears to be back in full swing once again. Word to the wise when seeing the band live, though: Bring earplugs. You’re going to need them. With MV & EE. 18+.

[This critics’ pick was originally published by City Pages.]