J Mascis announces his fifth studio album, What Do We Do Now

Recorded at his studio Bisquiteen in Western Massachusetts, What Do We Do Now is Mascis’ first solo album that features full drum and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. The album features guest musicians, including Western Mass local Ken Mauri of The B-52s on keys and Ontario-based polymath Matthew “Doc” Dunn on steel guitar.

What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the pandemic. Utilising his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dinosaur Jr.

“When I'm writing for the band,” he says, “I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened.”

Tracklist:

1. Can't Believe We're Here
2. What Do We Do Now
3. Right Behind You
4. You Don't Understand Me
5. I Can't Find You
6. Old Friends
7. It's True
8. Set Me Down
9. Hangin Out
10. End is Gettin Shaky