''What Do We Do Now'' is the fourth solo studio album by Dinosaur Jr. frontman

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. (born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo artist a ...

, released through

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on February 2, 2024. It received acclaim from critics.

Critical reception

''What Do We Do Now'' received a score of 74 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on 15 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. ''

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'' called it "an LP of insight and empathy", while '' Uncut'' felt that "the result is Mascis's most fully formed and direct solo set to date". Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called it "a little different" from Mascis's output with Dinosaur Jr., as "here the drums are blasting away at full force, the tempos are lively, and heavily distorted guitar solos beam in from outer space in a way Mascis has made his own since the days of '' Bug''". ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' Robert Barry remarked that while the "kind of wild scree that once characterised Dinosaur Jr records is largely gone now", he still found the album to be "a record of beautifully put-together songs played on an acoustic guitar then beefed up by a band". Greg Hyde of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' wrote that ''What Do We Do Now'' "has some interesting moments on its first side, but quite a bit of it does feel leaden and lacking in energy". Evan Rytlewski of ''

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'' stated that if the album is "less satisfying than Mascis' previous solo releases, it's because it has less to reveal. Mascis has written so many songs about the same needs and frustrations—his failures to communicate, to be understood, and ultimately accepted—that they can't help but bleed together".

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals, guitars, bass, drums * Matthew "Doc" Dunn –

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

Ken Maiuri Kenneth Maiuri is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Florence, Massachusetts. Since early 2016, he has been the keyboardist for The B-52s, The B-52's. He has played in numerous other bands, such as Pedro the Lion and The M ...

– piano, keyboards Production * J Mascis –

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Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

– mastering *

John Agnello John Agnello is an American music producer and recording engineer who has worked with a multitude of recording artists. He has produced or co-produced dozens of albums. He also founded his own record label in the 2000s. Background In the 1980s, ...

– mixing * Justin Pizzoferrato – engineering * Mark Miller – engineering Creative *

Neil Blender Neil Blender (born 1963) is an American former professional skateboarder, skate company owner, and artist. His pro career began during his senior year of high school in 1981. He is regular-footed. By 1986, Blender invented at least two tricks, the ...

– artwork * Sasha Barr – layout

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2024 albums Albums produced by J Mascis J Mascis albums Sub Pop albums