Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album on Homestead

Mascis took Cosloy up on his offer to release an album on Homestead, and Dinosaur recorded their debut album for $500 at a home studio in the woods outside Northampton, Massachusetts . Their debut album Dinosaur was released in 1985, for which Mascis wrote all of the songs. Mascis sang his vocal parts in his trademark nasal drawl, which was often compared to singer Neil Young. With Mascis not yet feeling comfortable with the lead vocalist role, many songs featured lead vocals by Barlow. Mascis would sing most or all of the lead vocals on all of their subsequent releases. The album did not make much of an impact commercially or critically. It sold only about 1,500 copies in its first year and was largely ignored by the majority of the music press.