One of the most influential bands to emerge out of the late 1980s alternative rock scene, Dinosaur Jr. is a rock band from Amherst, MA that formed in 1984. The band released its debut album Dinosaur, in 1985, exposing its signature distorted guitar style but a musically confused sound with each track offering a different style of music. With its next album, 1987's You're Living All Over Me, Dinosaur Jr. fully rounded out its sound to incorporate all of its influences including hardcore punk, pop, garage rock, punk rock and plenty of country and folk rock twang. As the band's guitar music, complete with guitarist J Mascis's shredding melodic guitar solos, continued to capture an audience around the US and eventually Europe, the band made the transition from independent labels to the major label, Sire Records who released the its 1991 record, Green Mind. Unlike many 1980s bands, Dinosaur Jr. made a smooth transition into the music landscape of the 1990s, but nevertheless broke up in 1997 only to reunite in 2005. The band continues to record new albums and is still remembered as one of the the few bands from the 1980s to find the perfect balance between punk and pop music.
