The alt-rock legends return with their first album in five years, previewed by a new single and video ahead of the August release…

Words by Felix Bartlett | July 2, 2026

---

Dinosaur Jr. have officially announced their new album There Near and unveiled its lead single, Several Got Away.

Marking their first full-length release in five years, There Near is set to arrive on August 28 via Jagjaguwar. The album follows 2021’s Sweep Into Space and signals a long-awaited return from the legendary alt-rock trio.

Speaking about his lyrical approach on the record, frontman J Mascis explains: “I’m not always sure what a song is ‘about’ when I’m writing it. I guess the meaning will present itself at some point. I’ll use whatever words work, and a lot of it is influenced by whatever esoteric mumbo jumbo I’m reading at the time. I try not to think too hard about any of it. I think it’s a drag that Spotify shows all the lyrics to a song. What’s the fun of that?”

Alongside the announcement, the band have shared their new single Several Got Away, complete with an accompanying music video.

Director Guy describes the creative vision behind the clip: “I wanted to do something a little tongue-in-cheek, with a kind of ‘backyard movie’ feel that would fit nicely within the existing canon of Dinosaur Jr. music videos. The first spark of inspiration came from a Henry Darger painting of children being terrorised by two giant floating hands of fire. From there, I started thinking about the rapture, and it all came together.

“The band were completely up for it, and I was honoured they let me chase them around a big field with a camera like a psycho. We were on a tight schedule, so I had to learn a lot of VFX over a weekend, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

Watch the video for Several Got Away below: