On February 2nd, 2024, musical virtuoso J Mascis will release his fifth solo studio album ‘What Do We Do Now,’ on Sub Pop Records. Recorded at his studio Bisquiteen in Western Massachusetts, ‘What Do We Do Now’ is J’s first solo album that features full drum and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. The album also 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. Utilizing 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 Dino. “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.”
In addition, J also shares the star-strewn official video for ‘What Do We Do Now’s’ lead single ‘Can’t Believe We’re Here,’ which features appearances from J and a few of his friends and foes. The video was edited by Adam Bale at Ballad Pictures. Check it out below!
‘What Do We Do Now’ tracklist:
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