''Bug'' is the third studio album by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ...

, released in October 1988 through

SST Records SST Records is an American independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California by musician Greg Ginn. The company was formed in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Tuners, a small business through which he sold electronics equip ...

Blast First Blast First is a sub label of one-time independent record label Mute Records, founded in approximately 1985. It was named after a phrase taken from the first number of the radical Vorticist journal '' Blast'', published by Wyndham Lewis in 191 ...

and

Au Go Go Records Au Go Go Records is the name of a Melbourne, Australia based independent record label. It was founded by Bruce Milne and Philip Morland from a house in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy in 1979 and was later operated by Greta Moon. The label star ...

released the album in the United Kingdom and Australia, respectively. It was the last Dinosaur Jr. album with original bassist

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock mus ...

until '' Beyond'' in 2007. Despite it being a favorite of many Dinosaur Jr. fans,

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

has said it is his least favorite Dinosaur Jr. album. The version of 'Keep The Glove' included on the 2005 reissue is not the same as the version on the b-side of the 'Freakscene' single or the 'Fossils' compilation.

Critical reception

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' critic Jack Barron deemed ''Bug'' "the most comprehensive rock statement of the year so far" in a 1988 review for the magazine, noting Dinosaur Jr.'s predominantly "torpid" approach and commenting that the music "trepidates everyday reality away", while rating the album "8.999999" on a ten-point scale. In a retrospective review of ''Bug'' for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

described "

Freak Scene "Freak Scene" is a song by American alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., the opening track on the group's third studio album '' Bug'' (1988). Written and produced by frontman J Mascis, the song was recorded at Fort Apache Studios by engineers Paul ...

" as the album's "masterpiece" and opined, "Although the majority of the album is firmly situated in the sprawling, noisy metallic fusion of hard rock and avant noise, ''Bug'' also demonstrates that J Mascis has a talent for winding folk-rock". While finding its songs "quite uneven", Erlewine concluded that the album nonetheless constitutes "a major step forward for Mascis". Writing for ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History '' ...

'' in 2005, Mike Diver said of ''Bug'', "The songwriting has increased tenfold since '' You're Living All Over Me'' ... really, if you like music – be it grunge,

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, whatever – you will love this. Period. Go spend some money already." Keith Cameron of '' Mojo'' wrote, "''Bug'' marks the emergence of Mascis writing by rote. When applied to such an outlandishly great song as 'Freak Scene' his skills still blazed, however, and as formulaic exercises in discordant alienation go, ''Bug'' is better than most." ''Bug'' is included in the book '' 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. ''

Beats Per Minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

'' ranked it the 41st best album of the 1980s.

Track listing

All songs written by

Personnel

;Dinosaur Jr. *

– vocals, guitar *

– bass, vocals on "Don't" * Murph – drums ;Additional personnel *

Sean Slade Sean Slade (born 14 November 1957) is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. On many of his productions he worked in partnership with Paul Q. Kolderie. Career Slade was born in Lansing, Michigan, United States. He graduated from Ya ...

– engineering *

Paul Q. Kolderie Paul Q. Kolderie is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer. He has worked with Pixies, Radiohead, Orangutang, Hole, Dinosaur Jr., Juliana Hatfield, Wax, Warren Zevon, Uncle Tupelo, Throwing Muses, Morphine, the Mighty Mighty Bosston ...

– engineering * Maura Jasper – cover art

References

1988 albums Dinosaur Jr. albums SST Records albums Merge Records albums Blast First albums Au Go Go Records albums {{1980s-alt-rock-album-stub