J Mascis - What Do We Do Now (LP) - Loser Edition Pink Vinyl

J Mascis has settled into a late career groove that feels more like a trusted conversation than a brand refresh, and What Do We Do Now is the latest chapter in that ongoing chat. Released on Sub Pop on February 2, 2024, it was recorded at his Bisquiteen Studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, where he has shaped so many of his solo statements. He plays nearly everything here, as usual, but the difference this time is how present the drums feel. The kit sits closer to the front of the room, giving these songs a pulse that his acoustic-leaning solo albums sometimes soft-pedal.

If you followed the rollout, “Can’t Believe We’re Here” set the tone. It opens like a shrug and turns into a shrug with a hook, Mascis singing in that airy, worn-in hush that has weathered punk clubs, festival fields, and endless practice rooms. Then the guitar blooms and the drums step forward. It is not Dinosaur Jr. loud, but it has shoulders. “Right Behind You” followed as another preview, all gentle churn and pinpoint melodic leads, proof that even when he dials down the wattage, his sense of phrasing on the fretboard remains its own language. His solos still sound like they are thinking out loud.

The guest list is small but well chosen. Ken Maiuri brings tasteful keys that light the corners of these rooms rather than crowd them. Matthew “Doc” Dunn adds steel that lifts a few choruses into a pale blue sky. Those touches are the difference between bedroom and studio, between sketches and songs that feel lived in. The rhythm tracks help too. Mascis grew up behind a drum kit and you can hear a drummer’s logic guiding the arrangements. He leaves space for the guitar to speak, then tucks the snare just behind the beat so the whole thing sways.

Compared with Tied to a Star and Elastic Days, this record leans a notch more electric, though it keeps the quiet heart that makes his solo work stick. The writing still favors open chords and unhurried tempos, but the textures have more grip. You get the sense he wrote on acoustic, then chased the moments where a fuzzed line or a simple piano figure might change the weather. His voice stays soft, even fragile at times, which is part of the charm. When he hits a high note and just barely lands it, it feels human in a way that draws you closer.

There is also that familiar Mascis mood, a kind of thoughtful resignation that somehow never gives up. He has been mining that feel since the first Dinosaur Jr. records, but age has given it a different weight. On What Do We Do Now, he sounds like someone who has spent decades letting songs figure out what they want, then following along with patience. The melodies are small but durable. The hooks do not shout. They tap your shoulder and hang around for weeks.

For a record store crowd, this is a rewarding spin on vinyl. The drums breathe nicely and the guitars sit in a wide, comfortable space, so the What Do We Do Now vinyl gives you that little extra air between the parts. If you are crate-digging in a Melbourne record store, it is the kind of J Mascis vinyl you could put on the shop turntable and sell three copies by the end of side A. And if you prefer to buy J Mascis records online, the search is straightforward, since Sub Pop has kept his solo catalog tidy. It never hurts to add J Mascis albums on vinyl to a list when you are stocking up on weekend listens or filling a parcel with vinyl records Australia retailers can ship without fuss.

Some artists reinvent. Mascis refines. He narrows the frame and nudges the focus by a degree or two, and somehow that minor shift brings out new layers in his playing. What Do We Do Now works because it trusts the basics. Good songs, a room he knows well, a few friends who understand the assignment, and those guitar lines that feel like conversation. It is a record you can live with, play in the kitchen while the kettle warms, then flip and sit with on a late night. If you want volume, Dinosaur Jr. remains right there. If you want to hear the same songwriter lean in and talk a little closer, this is the one to take home.