After two albums which found the band dubbed as Dinosaur Jr Jr, they had a change of tack on their third album, released in 1992. Opener Staples is a Pearl Jam style rabble-rouser, and it and Stymied shows the band clearly influenced by the Seattle band's debut album Ten. It's the second track Tailights Fade where they truly find their sound, the song is a relatively slow-burning anthem, all bittersweet chord changes and Bill Janovitz's impassioned vocals. Mountains of Your Head and Darl will appeal to anyone who likes the punkier moments of the Lemonheads. This album is best avoided if you have an aversion to heartfelt, belted out songs, as the album has these in abundance. Mineral is a great example of this, it sounds like something you're sure you've heard before but it's rendered perfectly, you'll want to punch the air along to this one, and other slow-builders such as Larry.
The jump-aroundiness of Velvet Roof and Saving Grace scream early nineties, but there's nothing wrong with that, the lazy scuzziness of I'm Not There, nor the breezy Lemonheads swing of Porchlight either. Probably the best place to start with this band.
