J Mascis announces fifth album ‘What Do We Do Now’ and shares ‘Can’t Believe We’re Here’

J Mascis has announced his fifth solo album ‘What Do We Do Now’ – listen to the single ‘Can’t Believe We’re Here’ below.

The Dinosaur Jr. frontman and soloist is due to release the 10-track record on February 2, 2024 via Sub Pop. You can pre-order/pre-save it here.

Per a press release, work on the forthcoming full-length project began during the COVID pandemic. Mascis started creating a series of songs on acoustic guitar at his own Bisquiteen Studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, US.

It’s said that the resulting material had a “different dynamic” to the music he makes with Dinosaur Jr.

Mascis explained: “When I’m writing for the band, I’m always trying to think of doing things Lou [Barlow, bass/vocals] and Murph [drums] 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.”

He continued: “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.”

Ken Mauri of The B-52s played piano on several tracks for ‘What Do We Do Now’.

“Ken is great, and he plays all the keys,” Mascis said. “I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I’m really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it’s kind of limiting.

“Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it’s harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones.”

Lead single ‘Can’t Believe We’re Here’ arrived alongside a DIY-style official video, which features cameo appearances from some of Mascis’ “friends and foes”. You can watch it above.

The tracklist for ‘What Do We Do Now’ is as follows:

01. ‘Can’t Believe We’re Here’
02. ‘What Do We Do Now’
03. ‘Right Behind You’
04. ‘You Don’t Understand Me’
05. ‘I Can’t Find You’
06. ‘Old Friends’
07. ‘It’s True’
08. ‘Set Me Down’
09. ‘Hangin Out’
10. ‘End is Gettin Shaky’

Meanwhile, Dinosaur Jr. are currently touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1993 album ‘Where You Been’. The band will make a UK-exclusive appearance at Bearded Theory 2024 next May.

Mascis will announce some solo gigs in support of his upcoming record “soon”.

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