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Oct 29, 2021 By Joey Arnone Photography by Cara Totman

Alt-rock veterans Dinosaur Jr. have released a new live album today, Emptiness at the Sinclair. The album was recorded at The Sinclair in Boston, and features the band performing many tracks from their most recent album, Sweep It Into Space. It is out now via Jagjaguwar. Listen below.

Longtime band member Lou Barlow states in a press release: “It was odd going back to Harvard Square for the Sinclair show, lots of closed shops, less car and foot traffic, my first time back in a big-city since it all went down. I had lived in Boston for about 10 years from the late ’80s—’90s and the bustling square was a common destination to look for records and meet with friends. The empty pandemic feel spooked me.

“Playing for a livestream is like pushing a rock up a hill trying to recreate the vibe of a real show. The isolation of the last year had made me nervous about performing again, especially in the context of Dinosaur Jr. where I typically rely on the energy of our crowd. Playing to an invisible audience and a real-time sparsely populated room of people doing their jobs (running lights, sound and staring at screens) was something different and, again, weird.

“Despite all my lockdown doubts, once we started playing things clicked. My mind didn’t hijack me and it quickly began to feel like a real show. Having had a few decent gigs on the Sinclair stage before, it began to feel familiar and, for lack of a better word, friendly. It will be much more of a relief to get back on tour, but this Sinclair show was a good band-aid, so to speak.”

Sweep It Into Space was released back in April via Jagjaguwar.

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