Dinosaur Jr.: Without a Sound (2LP, colour vinyl) [CHERRY RED]

Why you'll love it

This remastered 2LP set adds B-sides and a run of songs from the band's 1994 Brixton Academy show for BBC Radio One, in a gatefold jacket. It was the band's biggest seller, reaching No. 44 on the Billboard 200, and "Feel the Pain" went to No. 4 on the Modern Rock chart.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Colour vinyl
• Remastered
• Bonus tracks and live recordings
• Gatefold jacket
• Pressed in the EU
• Lyrics included

About the album

J Mascis has always made loud music sound like a quiet conversation, and Without a Sound may be the gentlest-hearted record he ever made at volume. His father died around the time he was writing it, and he later said it was the hardest album he'd ever had to write. With Murph gone, Mascis played the drums himself, Mike Johnson held down the bass, and sessions ran through Dreamland, Wendell, Baby Monster and Sear Sound before mixing at Electric Lady.

"Feel the Pain" pairs a lazy, loping verse with a chorus that flattens the furniture, and "I Don't Think So" followed it as a single. "Outta Hand," "Even You" (where the title comes from) and "On the Brink" show off his knack for a sad, lovely melody wrapped in fuzz. The extra sides here gather B-sides, the Melrose Place soundtrack song "Blah" and live takes of "Sludge" and "What Else Is New" from Brixton. The cover painting is by Neil Blender, the pro skateboarder and early fan.

In 2019, twenty-five years on, closing song "Over Your Shoulder" suddenly hit No. 18 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, thanks to clips of a Japanese boxing reality show called Gachinko Fight Club. Nobody planned it, which is very much the Dinosaur Jr. way of doing things.

Also at Kops: more Dinosaur Jr. on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Cherry Red (cat# PBREDD758), a reissue of the 1994 album.