J Mascis' croaky singing and epic lead guitar style are among the most distinctive traits in all of rock music, but he generally differentiates his solo work from his output with Dinosaur Jr. by leaning into acoustic instrumentation and softer expressions. What Do We Do Now, Mascis' fifth proper studio solo effort, is a little different. 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. Tracks like "Can't Believe We're Here" and the driving "Right Behind You" are built on acoustic guitars and pianos, but they sound less like subdued singer/songwriter asides and more like the less explosive material that regularly shows up on post-2005 reunion Dinosaur Jr. albums. As the record spins on, however, a consistent mood emerges, one that places What Do We Do Now apart from the chemistry that only happens when J teams with Murph and Lou Barlow in Dinosaur Jr. Like the best of his work, much of the album follows Mascis as he wanders dazed through his own mind. Many songs include supportive piano by the B-52s' Ken Mauri and pedal steel by Matthew Dunn. These contributions especially shine on songs where the energy is turned down a touch, as with the melancholic "You Don't Understand Me" or the sweetly sad "I Can't Find You." These songs call back to the most searching moments of J's run on the strange and solitary Dinosaur Jr. albums of the mid- to late '90s, with his signature slacker pondering and drifting through the same familiar confusion as always. What Do We Do Now doesn't break much new ground, but it does offer the comforting touchstones that have graced almost all of Mascis' albums for the better part of the 30 years before it. These songs are ten of his better solo offerings, and they further refine his particular brand of hazy, half-awake beauty. ~ Fred Thomas