Dinosaur Jr.

This 1994 EP marks the exact point at which Dinosaur Jr. switched from "affably diffident" to "just don't friggin' care anymore." The title track is a teaser for the upcoming album, Without a Sound, and unfortunately, its half-written formlessness -- it's really just two lines repeated over and over, interrupted with what had by this point become standard J. Mascis wall-of-noise guitar solos -- is an all-too-true harbinger for that deeply disappointing album. Luckily, the other two songs almost make up for the title track's pointlessness. "Get Out of This" is a live five-and-a-half-minute guitar solo that proves how interesting a soloist Mascis can be -- sort of like a cross between Neil Young and Lee Ranaldo. The third track, a live acoustic version of "Repulsion" (a standout track from 1985's Dinosaur, before Mascis was forced to add the "Jr." for legal reasons) recorded at CBGB, brings new insight into what had previously been a sludgy but exciting mess. This is strictly for die-hard fans, but it's not as useless a disc as the title track might lead one to believe. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide