Released before the group was forced to change its name to
Dinosaur Jr.
by an obscure
psychedelic
group, the band's debut,
Dinosaur
, is a noisy, impressive, but uneven array of pseudo-
hardcore
numbers, sonic experiments, and sprawling
hard rock
. Although the band doesn't land on any one distinctive style, its ambition of marrying
Neil Young
and
Sonic Youth
sounds intriguing, and it has enough outstanding moments to indicate that the group was capable of the stylistic breakthrough it achieved on
You're Living All Over Me
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine