Looking back on the off-the-wall gene-riding journey that was Dinosaur Jr.’s 1985 debut, Dinosaur, bandleader and guitarist J Mascis, in his usual monotone shrug, says, “I was just learning guitar. I picked it up to write songs and start a band, so whatever I was writing… that’s all I could play, pretty much.”

Dinosaur, despite its seeming lack of structure and virtuosity, wasn’t without a guiding light – even if Mascis essentially stumbled upon it.

“I didn’t know much about guitar tone,” he says. “I remember I had this Yamaha [G-100] solid-state amp because I saw that Bob Mould [Hüsker Dü] had one. I thought, ‘How bad could it be if Bob Mould has one?’

“Then the hotshot guitar player at our gig said, ‘Your guitar sounds terrible.’ I had the deluxe [Electro-Harmonix] Big Muff, and he’s like, ‘You should leave that thing on’ because I had it clean. So I turned on the Big Muff and was like, ‘Yeah… okay.’”

With that, the quintessential Dinosaur Jr. guitar tone was born, although Mascis – who wasn’t even sure what he wanted his band to sound like – was still experimenting with genres and approaches while recording Dinosaur.

“I don’t know that the record had a direction,” he says. “We were kind of just throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what stuck. We didn’t have a ‘sound’ yet – every song seemed different. There was a country song, a Joy Division song.

“Plus, I hadn’t been playing guitar for that long. A lot of the chords had two fingers because I couldn’t do Barre chords; they hurt my hands. I’d just make up chords with the least amount of fingers possible.” [Laughs]

Still, the band seemed to have found its footing on one Dinosaur track in particular, Repulsion. “That was the first song we recorded where I thought we found out our sound. It was the first song I was kind of excited about.”

After completing Dinosaur, Mascis, who was just 20, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson Murphy III, aka “Murph,” were happy enough with the results, but they knew they could do better. “We thought it was alright,” Mascis says. “You know… not the greatest album, but I thought it was okay.”

In the 40 years since its release, Dinosaur Jr.’s “okay” debut album – which was recorded in a cabin in the woods for about $500 – has become a fan favorite. Initially, however, it only sold 1,500 copies.

In fact, if Sonic Youth hadn’t come across the album, Dinosaur Jr. might’ve simply gone extinct. But they hooked up with Sonic Youth as tour openers in ’86, leading to a wider audience grabbing copies of Dinosaur, followed by 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me, followed by one hell of a career.

“That was our first tour,” Mascis says. “And it was probably our best tour. We weren’t sick of each other then.” [Laughs]

In the end, Dinosaur served its purpose, big time. It gave Mascis experience on guitar, allowed the young band to find its footing and eventually gave them a whole neighborhood’s worth of street cred within the indie and alt-rock scenes.

“It’s an interesting artifact,” Mascis says. “We were trying to form a band, trying to find out the sound and going in all these different directions. We play a lot of the songs live now, and people seem to like them more, I guess, even though they sound a lot heavier now.”

If he had the chance, would Mascis do Dinosaur over again? “I don’t know! That’s hard,” he says. “I have no idea. I might change everything – on everything – if I could. But we just kind of let it go and hoped for the best.”

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Through his work with Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis has curated one of the most instantly recognizable alternative guitar tones that many budding electric guitar players aspire to emulate.

However, while some guitarists put considerable effort into capturing the very essence of J Mascis’ sonic DNA, the truth is that J Mascis himself didn’t put much thought into his fuzz-loaded tone when he originally began Dinosaur Jr. in the mid-1980s.

In fact, he stumbled upon his hall-of-fame stoner rock tone purely by accident – and only after he was rather harshly heckled by an audience member during an early Dinosaur Jr. gig.

In the new issue of Guitar World, the Jazzmaster-toting guitar hero looks back on the early days of Dinosaur Jr., and recalls how, around the time they were putting together their 1985 debut, Dinosaur, he only started learning the guitar as a means to write and perform.

“I was just learning guitar, Mascis remembers. “I picked it up to write songs and start a band, so whatever I was writing... that’s all I could play, pretty much.”

As such, his appreciation of guitar tone and the mechanics behind dialing in a suitable sound weren’t especially sophisticated.

“I didn’t know much about guitar tone,” he says. “I remember I had this Yamaha [G-100] solid-state amp because I saw that Bob Mould [Hüsker Dü] had one. I thought, ‘How bad could it be if Bob Mould has one?’

“Then the hotshot guitar player at our gig said, ‘Your guitar sounds terrible.’ I had the deluxe [Electro-Harmonix] Big Muff, and he’s like, ‘You should leave that thing on,’ because I had [the amp] clean. So I turned on the Big Muff and was like, ‘Yeah... okay.’”

The rest, they say, is history, and Mascis’ love affair with the Big Muff (the ‘Ram’s Head’ version, specifically) would go on to define the Dinosaur Jr. sound, feature heavily in the Fuzz: The Sound That Revolutionized The World documentary, and eventually lead to a signature Electro-Harmonic Muff that received rave reviews.

At the time, though, it wasn’t just tone that Mascis approached with an unorthodox mindset – it was also his playing in general.

“We were kind of just throwing stuff against the wall and seeing what stuck,” he adds of Dinosaur Jr.’s early records. “We didn’t have a ‘sound’ yet; every song seemed different. There was a country song, a Joy Division song. Plus, I hadn’t been playing guitar for that long.

“A lot of the chords had two fingers because I couldn’t do barre chords; they hurt my hands. I’d just make up chords with the least amount of fingers possible.”

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the newest issue of Guitar World, which features interviews with J Mascis, Kiki Wong, Joe Perry, Jim Babjak and more.

Gov’t Mule frontman Warren Haynes brought the house down when he joined J Mascis onstage for Saturday night’s set at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, in Brooklyn, New York.

Dinosaur Jr. had just covered the Stooges’ No Fun with Kurt Vile guesting when Haynes and his Gibson Les Paul took to the stage for a trio of tracks to close out the evening, first playing the Cure’s Just Like Heaven, Forget the Swan from the 1985 Dinosaur Jr. debut album Dinosaur, and bringing proceedings to a close with an epic cover of Neil Young’s Cortez the Killer. 

Fan-shot footage captured all the action, with various videos on YouTube documenting what was a special evening in the Big Apple and further proof that the greats can play with anyone, in any style. 

Haynes looked right at home up there, and afterwards he posted a clip to his Instagram account to say he had “a great time” jamming with Mascis and his Dinosaur Jr. bandmates, bassist/vocalist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph.

There can be few guitarists with a better contacts book than Mascis. He has invited the likes of Richard Ayoade, My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields and Debbie Googe, Blur’s Graham Coxon, Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and Lee Ranaldo onstage to help the alt-rock trailblazers celebrate 30 years of landmark release Where You Been.

But maybe Haynes could match Mascis for his convening powers, with his all-star annual Christmas Jam scheduled for this coming Saturday, December 9, at the ExploreAshville.com Arena, Asheville, NC.

Slash and Myles Kennedy will be there. It wouldn’t be an all-star jam without Billy F. Gibbons. Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening and Clutch will be there, too, as will Karina Rykman and American Babies featuring Tom Hamilton, Jim Hamilton and Joe Russo.

Dinosaur Jr’s tour continues. Good luck getting tickets. Even when playing multiple nights at the same venue, they have sold out – though there are still some available for January’s run, starting at Revolution Hall in Portland, OR.

The band will perform Where You Been in its entirety, then some choice cuts and a few covers for good measure. And there are sure to be more surprise guests. See Dinosaur Jr. for dates and details.

Mascis recently sat down with Guitar World to talk about the 10 guitarists who shaped his sound, from Ron Asheton and Greg Sage to Tony Iommi and Paul Kossoff. Despite Dinosaur Jr’s influence, he admits that he doesn’t think about all that stuff. This whole enterprise is just his hobby, his job, and the search for new sounds.

“It’s great if somebody likes my playing, but I never think about it,” he said. “I have my heroes, but I don't know if anyone sets out to be Steve Vai. I just like making sounds. This isn't just my job; it's my main hobby. And now, there’s like a million pedals and all sorts of gear that always comes out.

“So, I don't know about being a hero or any of that. I'm focused on searching for that ultimate sound. I haven't gotten there yet, but it's never boring looking.”

As they entered the '90s, Dinosaur Jr. had been plugging away for several years. And by '93, they had five solid records – Dinosaur (1985), You're Living All Over Me (1987), Bug (1988), Whatever's Cool With Me (1991), and Green Mind (1991) – under their belts.

Of course, all these albums featured quirky songwriting, emotive compositional fabric, and low-key guitar heroics through guitar anti-hero J Mascis. But it wasn't until 1993's Where You Been that Mascis and his cohorts in Dinosaur Jr. broke mainstream ground.

Looking back on Where You Been 30 years later, Mascis tells Guitar World, "Where You Been is the only record where me, Murph [Emmett Jefferson Murphy III], and Mike [Johnson] really played together in the studio. We really were trying to make a good record; above all else, I just remember working hard on it."

He continues, "As far as the success of it, I never expected anything. I'm always surprised if someone likes something that I've done. But Where You Been was also the first album where I had some different guitars are my disposal. I remember having a Tele, and a Fender Tweed amp, which I used during the sessions."

Of course, Mascis had delivered the goods across five albums previously. And so, did the sudden access to a candy shop's worth of gear inspire or alter his approach?

"Not really," he says. "But I liked having all those guitars because it gave me more options, you know? I had never really had the chance to try different things before Where You Been. I didn't have that much money, so having different guitars in the studio with me was very cool in exploring different sounds."

When asked if there's one riff or solo from Where You Been that stands out most, Mascis quipped, "The Get Me solo is pretty good. I'm unsure where I was when I recorded it; maybe in L.A., or it could have been down in Miami. But I know I had that Fender Tweed amp, and all the overdubs were done with the Tele I had."

In the present day, Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. are set to hit the road worldwide in support of the 30th anniversary of Where You Been. It's an interesting bit of nostalgia, given Mascis' creatively restless nature always has him pushing forward rather than looking back.

"It's hard for me to know how Where You Been changed me as a player," Mascis admits. "But since then, I've kept chasing sounds because I've gotten even more gear [laughs]. My signature Tele and Jazzmaster have incorporated things I've figured since then, like jumbo frets and a tune-o-matic bridge. I need more sustain, something more solid-feeling, and I don't like the traditional Jazzmaster floating bridge."

Gear and retrospective album musings aside, as far as the '90s goes, J Mascis – in all his distorted yet soft-spoken glory – is the ultimate unassuming guitar hero. Not that he cares too much about that sort of thing.

"It's great if somebody likes my playing, but I never think about it," Mascis concludes. "I have my heroes, but I don't know if anyone sets out to be Steve Vai. I just like making sounds. This isn't just my job; it's my main hobby. And now, there's like a million pedals and all sorts of gear that always comes out. So, I don't know about being a hero or any of that. I'm focused on searching for that ultimate sound. I haven't gotten there yet, but it's never boring looking."

As he prepares to hit the road in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Where You Been, J Mascis dialed in with Guitar World to run through the 10 guitarists who shaped his sound.

1. Greg Sage

"I've always loved the Wipers, and I've definitely tried to incorporate that type of playing and sound into my own playing. Greg Sage is a great player; I've always liked his feel, his touch, and his songs, too. It's hard to describe, but the whole atmosphere that Greg gets with the guitar is cool. And the way he uses the whammy bar is unique, especially in punk rock music. I always thought that style was, and the effect was pretty cool for playing rhythm stuff.

"Trying to pinpoint where he lies within my own style is tough, but there are certain things that I've ripped off from Greg over the years. For example, I noticed that the beginning of Kracked from You're Living All Over Me is kind of a Wipers-styled thing."

2. Keith Richards/Mick Taylor

"I have to keep these two together because what they did together was so great. The Stones are very different from Dinosaur Jr., but I love them. Mick's melodic style against Keith's more stripped-down, bluesy approach is a guitar sound that I've always considered magical. The way Mick would play lead and his note choices influenced me. And his melodies and ideas always struck me as very cool. As with Keith, his rhythm playing is always so locked in.

"When I started playing with other guitarists, I noticed that I tended to look at rhythm more like Keith, where I was locked into the beat and taking a lot of time to observe the other guitarists I was playing with."

3. Ron Asheton

"Ron Ashton was a big one in my first stages as a guitar player. From the very first time I heard Ron play, I immediately knew that his sound was my favorite guitar sound. It's something that I've always been chasing throughout my career.

"To this day, Ron got the most amazing guitar sound, and his leads were very cool, too. They weren't technically hard, but they were singular to him. I'm not sure what it was about Ron… his sound just really affected me. To this day, it's the most amazing guitar sound I've heard. I tried to find it myself, but to date, I've never gotten there."

4. Anthony 'Bones' Roberts

"I've always liked Bones from Discharge. I first heard him while I was playing drums in hardcore bands, and when I heard him, he immediately stood out. I always liked his atonal leads, and when I started playing guitar, I definitely put some of that into my style. He's got a very unique sound and vibe and is another that has a sound I've often referred back to."

5. Bob Mould

"I love Bob Mould's guitar playing. I still remember the first time I saw him play; he was so loud and completely overtook the room. I liked that aspect of his playing and remember thinking, 'Yeah… I like this. I'd like to incorporate some of that.'

"He was great with Hüsker Dü and, later, an album called Black Sheets of Rain, which is a great description of Bob's playing. His guitar sound is one where it just feels like the guitar is everywhere in the room."

6. Tony Iommi

"Another guy with that same guitar-being-everywhere type sound is Tony Iommi, who I didn't realize was such a big influence on me until later. I've always loved Black Sabbath, but for a long time, I never really thought about how they influenced me.

"But a few years ago, I saw Sabbath live for the first time, and that's when it totally struck me just how awesome Tony Iommi was live. And then that show also made me realize that he was a significant influence on me, even though I never singled him out previously. Like I said, I always loved Sabbath but never picked apart the individual sounds. But Tony really impressed me with his live playing, so he's made it onto my list."

7. Paul Kossoff 

"Paul was a great player who had an incredible feel. He was especially impressive when he slowed it down, and you could hear his vibrato. The way he slowed it down is something that I find inspiring because I have a hard time playing slow, so I'm impressed when people can do that.

"I liked his leads; I've watched a lot of videos of him playing, and you can tell by the faces that he made that he was deeply into it. He had such an intense vibrato that I can't help but think it is undeniably cool. It's hard to say where any of that comes out in Dinosaur Jr., but it's definitely in there somewhere. I just can't place exactly where and when it'll come out."

8. Bob Dylan

"I've always liked Bob Dylan as a guitar player. As far as acoustic stuff goes, Bob is very underrated as a player. His rhythm playing, the sound he got, the way he can accompany himself, and his strumming are all very cool. He's obviously not much of an influence on me as an electric guitar player, but Bob Dylan definitely influences me on the acoustic side.

"I don't know why he's so underrated, but when I hear him playing alone on some of the bootleg stuff I have, he just sounds so amazing. His style and rhythms morph constantly and always keep your attention."

9. Jimi Hendrix

"Hendrix probably seems obvious, but he's the best guitarist ever, you know? No-one is ever gonna get close to him. So, he's on the list for that reason alone. He's an influence for all the obvious reasons, but I've never even tried to figure out a Hendrix song, meaning I've never tried to play like him. I'll never even try to play like him.

"I've never heard a single person play Hendrix correctly. People always try to rip him off, which is one of the saddest things ever. People trying to play like Jimi Hendrix are just depressing. I mean… I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan once, and he was OK, but I don't know… he was a bit more repetitive than Hendrix. With Hendrix, it was all in his hands. You can't duplicate that."

10. Rory Gallagher

"I loved Rory Gallagher for his energy. He was like a bolt of lightning on stage, focusing all his energy on the guitar and the gig. I've only ever seen a video of him, but I can imagine that seeing that in person must have been awesome.

"His style comes out in what I do because he was a player who often thought outside the box, and some of his solos were really weird. It can be hard to understand where he came from, which is an aspect that I like. I also like that his setup was so simple. Rory played through one little amp, which was different than all these guys playing through stacks of Marshall amps. The idea of Rory Gallagher sitting with his little Vox AC30 with a treble booster appeals to me."

• Dinosaur Jr. celebrate 30 years of Where You Been with a run of shows in London and New York in November and December – see DinosaurJr.com for full dates.

When you think J Mascis and the warm, organic, textured electric guitar tones of Dinosaur Jr., there’s inevitably one effects pedal that springs to mind – the Big Muff. 

Sure, Mascis has been associated with other fuzz pedals in the past. Notably the Wren and Cuff Garbage Face, but, as the alt-rock icon says himself, “the Muff is always on.” His house is a veritable museum of rare and vintage Muff, so it makes perfect sense for the bods at Electro-Harmonix to make a signature Muff just for him.

Mascis’s signature Big Muff is finished in white and violet, with his John Hancock on the front of the enclosure, and available exclusively through Reverb. 

The Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi is based on his 1973 Electro-Harmonix V2 Violet Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi, and features a trio of controls for Volume, Tone and Sustain. 

As Mascis notes in the video, he learned how to play guitar and effects at the same time. In many respects, his interface into the world of guitar tone was via the control setup of a Deluxe Big Muff.

“The Deluxe Big Muff was the first one I had,” says Mascis. “The first got stolen, then I got another Deluxe, which was hard without Reverb or the internet. I found one guy somewhere who had one. I traded him a Music Man head for the Big Muff, which everyone thought it was insane at the time. But it was my sound. I needed it.”

The Ram’s Head came soon after and both would make it onto his pedalboard. As is often the way with fuzz addicts, one is never enough. 

But then the Ram’s Head Pi is a fuzz that typically plays nicely with other drive pedals, balancing thick sustain with note clarity – crucial qualities for Mascis’s process of layering gain stages for ever richer and thicker textures.

The J Mascis Ram’s Head Big Muff Pi takes a 9V battery or pedalboard power supply, is true bypass, and is is available now, via – where else? – Reverb, and is priced $131.50. Head over to Reverb to grab one.

It’s that time of year when we give it up and offer the lead guitarists a well-deserved round of applause. Well done, everyone, you’ve earned it. As we guitar players know, a great guitar solo contains multitudes. 

Oftentimes it’s all about the woodshedding, but then mavens of tantric sustain might beg to differ. Technique can be critical, but usually it’s the tone, or even the lack of a rigid schoolbook performance, that makes a solo worthy of multiple listens.

For many players, especially those whose names are not on the ticket, diplomacy is key when convincing bandmates to surrender 32 bars or more to your musical genius. But perhaps we should stop looking at lead guitar as being separate to the songwriting process. Here, we have a wide range of styles, and yet all conform to that one rule of serving the song. 

It has been quite the year for lead guitar. John Petrucci has put his name to two albums and yet the top 10 eludes him. Julian Lage’s Blue Note debut, Squint, saw him attack electric jazz guitar with a freewheeling zeal, and then we had Eric Gales’ show-stealing solo with Joe Bonamassa, when he dug deep into his musical vocabulary to set alight to I Want My Crown. 

Then there was Steve Vai’s act of one-armed legato genius, Knappsack. That none of these made the cut speaks to the impact of the following, and that the pop-cultural compass of the Guitar World reader is pointed towards the sounds of the '70s and '80s reimagined for today.

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10. Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators – The River Is Rising

Is it even an end of year best guitar solos list if it doesn’t include the top-hatted rock animal who signs his Christmas cards ‘Slash’? Here, his long-time co-Conspirator Myles Kennedy gives him the big build-up, before the band take a deep breath and heave into a double-time feel for a solo that has shades of Slash’s fast-picking Paradise City approach, foregrounding a helter-skelter melody that resolves in a muscle-car AC/DC/Aerosmith lick.

There are faster guitar solos. There are more melodic guitar solos, too. But there’s something about Slash’s feel that is so aggressive you wonder how you could ever replicate it, least not on a Les Paul stringed with a set of 11s. Maybe we’ll try the Rocky method, downing raw eggs at sun-up, and perhaps spiking our superfoods smoothie with a healthy tot of sour mash whiskey.

9.  Joe Bonamassa – Mind’s Eye 

Time Clocks took all of us for a spin. The way Mr. Bonamassa was talking, this was to be a stripped-down New York album, a work of throw-and-go electric blues. And yet it turned out to be a long-form epic with the influence of prog heroes such as Chris Squire coming to the fore and broadening the canvas. 

Mind’s Eye takes the blues ballad through the looking glass – a dark night of the soul on the dark side of the moon – and it’s capped with a lead passage that eschews any temptation for pentatonic boogie for melodic minor key virtuosity, played on guitars that could tell you first hand what John F. Kennedy was wearing at his inauguration.

With the feel on this one, it’s as though Bonamassa had been watching the weather channel for inspiration, building and building the intensity of the storm then allowing us a moment to get our heads together in the aftermath.

8. Flock of Dimes – Price of Blue 

And so for something skronky, spanky and crunchy. Jenn Wasner’s Flock of Dimes is always essential listening for budding tonesmiths who want to take the electric guitar out of its conventional jazz/blues/rock/metal law of gravity, and her latest album, Head of Roses, is exquisite in terms of tone and composition.

The Price of Blue solo, though, tracked on an '80s Fender Stratocaster owned by producer Nick Sanborn's father, is a remarkable piece of work. It’s the tone, yes, but it’s also the phrasing and Wasner’s use of the vibrato. It sounds like it has gently torn something in the mix, as though something mechanical has gone and it’s set loose the song’s ID. It also serves as a successful reference for how to hold the atonal and the melodic in perfect equilibrium.

7. Myles Kennedy – The Ides of March 

As a soothsayer to the Roman Emperor, Caesar famously said, "Beware The Ides of March." Not necessarily because your courtiers and palace rivals might stick the knife into you, but because nailing the phrasing on this standout guitar moment from Myles Kennedy’s latest solo album might drive you madder than Schumann.

Guitar players will recognize the real heroes behind this piece – the guitar techs who set up the guitar, and the engineers who made the guitar tuner so accurate. Like walking on the moon, a solo that relies on such on-point intonation is a team sport, and spectacular when it comes off. 

Kennedy’s profile as a guitarist is often overshadowed by his pals Slash and Alter Bridge bandmate Mark Tremonti, but the title track from his latest solo album is a showcase for his formidable talents, chief among them that sense of feel, intonational propriety, and phrasing.

6. Cardinal Black – Tell Me How It Feels 

Chris Buck gives this neo-soul rocker a welcome power-up with some sweet cream fingerstyle lead guitar that seems to have culled its note choices and phrasing from the back catalog of Motown Records. 

Okay, so most human voices might not get up this high – and God help Tom Hollister if his voice ever reaches this pitch – but Buck’s solo here really sounds like an ancillary vocal line played on guitar.

You might have arrived here as a Cardinal Black fan, but the chances are you will already be familiar with the amiable six-string phenom from his YouTube presence, and he has been typically kind enough to break this solo down for us on his YouTube channel. 

Check out that video if you want him tell you more, but one last word from us – that Yamaha Revstar, Mythos Golden Fleece fuzz pedal, ThorpyFX Gunshot into a Victory V140 Super Duchess is a recipe for artery-clogging tone, leavened with a soupçon of lemon juice treble. It’s positively epicurean; Bon Appétit should run a column on Buck’s tone.

5. Tremonti – Marching in Time 

Mark Tremonti’s guitar solos are a little like the post-millennial acting career of Tom Cruise. You know there will be running. You know there will be thrills, spills and a sense of shock and awe. But even though you know all this is coming, there’s a gratifying adrenaline rush for seeing – or in Tremonti’s case, hearing – this all come together.

Marching in Time is vintage Tremonti, widescreen and dynamic, and its solo could only come from a black belt in legato jiu-jitsu. Using a wah pedal as a filter, he showcases some ridiculously dexterous chops, with intervallic gaps that suggest you might need hands like E.T. to fret them comfortably. But if we are to anoint Tremonti as Top Gun of crowd-pleasing virtuosity, it is probably on the super-human fluidity of his position changes.

4. Dinosaur Jr. – I Met the Stones 

A punk-rock, four-to-the-floor jam that sounds like the Stooges if they were stoned out their gourd and enjoying a six-month sabbatical in Tahiti, I Met the Stones is a highlight from an album of highlights. There’s something cosmic about J. Mascis’ timing; Sweep It Into Space arrived just when we needed it. A soulful, half-awake, half-blissed out, imaginative and human alternative rock album that injected some '90s optimism into our fraught and disquieting present.

While most of the album was tracked on a Fender Telecaster – with Mascis and Fender collaborating on a very smart signature model – Mascis reached for his Eastwood baritone for this solo. The lead guitar on this song is, again, like another vocal presence, snaking around the verse, always present, and it's a wondrous sound: thick, vibrant, and human.

3. Mammoth WVH – Mr. Ed 

We've learned many things about Wolfgang Van Halen in the past year, but perhaps chief among them is that he is his father’s son and his own man. The dignity, strength and, indeed, good humor that he displayed in the months after losing his father, having to process his loss in the public’s eye, is a testament to his character.

And, as a musician, we all learned that WVH is not EVH and there are different influences shaping his sound. But on Mr. Ed, the Van Halen name indicates more than just the familial link, with a guitar solo that references Eddie Van Halen’s trick bag and makes a feel-good song a little more feel-good, but also bittersweet, too. 

Even if you took all the names off this and it just arrived in your inbox in an unnamed FLAC file, the Van Halen ideology that says the guitar solo must boost serotonin and serve as a pick-me-up is all over this. 

2. John Mayer – Last Train Home 

Would the real Last Train Home solo please stand up? Such is John Mayer’s penetration of the Web 2.0, it seems like everybody who has ever picked up an electric guitar has put their stamp on this yacht-rockin’ Valentine’s Day standard. But by democratic assent, your favorite Last Train Home solo – and indeed your silver (sky) medalist for 2021 – is Mayer’s own ballad version.

Again, the tone is primo. We’d call it cutting edge, but we know Mayer was repping '80s Clapton here and enjoying reruns of Manimal and Cagney & Lacey between takes. The retro appeal for anyone who lived through that era is intoxicating. You might even let out a little squeal much like the slide that introduces Mayer’s solo here.

What can we say? This sort of material is right at the heart of the Mayer wheelhouse, and it’s sumptuous. Can lead guitar be coiffed? This sounds like Don Johnson’s hair looked onset circa ’85. Not a note out of place.

1. Greta Van Fleet – Age of Machine 

Your number one solo of the year, and by a wide margin, Age of Machine represents the scale of GVF’s ambition on The Battle at Garden’s Gate.

Once upon a time, there was a sense that the influence from the big beasts of '70s rock was over-weening, but Jake Kiszka’s sleight of hand contends such notions with daring and bold cinematic compositions like this. Age of Machine does to classic rock what Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy did to Tolkien; it updates the text, it recontextualizes it, and it challenges those who might argue that today’s audiences lack the attention span for world-building.

Perhaps conscious of this, Kiszka’s leads make regular appearances, pulling focus at the four-minute mark, just over halfway through the jam, to set the table for the track’s denouement.

When Kiszka was in conversation with Guitar World about The Battle at Garden’s Gate, he spoke of the importance of dynamics with regards to tone, but it holds similarly true for the songwriting. Altogether, it makes for an audiophile’s record. Or, as Kiszka describes it, "An orgasmic, cinematic piece of rock ‘n’ roll."

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While Sweep It Into Space, Dinosaur Jr.’s first album in five years, ticks all the boxes fans could hope for, it might just surprise a few longtime listeners, due to its upbeat feel. 

Frontman J Mascis agrees: “I suppose it was a fairly positive feeling doing the record, although the pandemic hasn’t agreed with me – and I haven’t been too happy myself. 

"We started before lockdown but had to finish it once it kicked in, which was pretty weird as I had to learn how to do a lot of things, engineering-wise, at home. I’m very happy with the record – although it will take me some time before I can really decide how it stands in relation to the rest of my work.” 

Although Mascis’ guitar parts sound enormous, his guitar is actually not that loud in the studio. 

“We always use smaller amps when we’re recording, like a [Vox] AC15 or a Tweed Deluxe. I like a lot of effects that really change the sound of the guitar; they often tend to be vintage units or newer models designed to sound like old pedals.

"Live, I still use the Marshall and Hiwatt stacks. I’ve not had my hearing tested lately, but I definitely have tinnitus; I’ve always worn earplugs, though. I just like the feeling of the guitar kind of hitting you in the back.” [Laughs] 

Guitar-wise, there’ve been a few recent additions to J’s arsenal. “I used a Les Paul Junior TV model, and Ernie Ball gave me a St. Vincent guitar, which I hadn’t played before. I use a capo a lot, and a lot of my old guitars don’t play very well with a capo on them. 

"Live, I’m going to be using one of my signature Jazzmasters, which I’ve modified by installing a humbucker in the neck position. I’ll be tuning that down to C# and using a capo for four songs on the album. It’s really just to find the best key to sing with.”

Going forward, Mascis plans to continue releasing solo records as well as work with Dinosaur Jr. 

“I’ve started working on a solo album already, and I’m in the middle of mixing a Heavy Blanket album, an ongoing side project that’s all instrumental with a lot of solos. We’ll also be celebrating the 40th anniversary of [Dinosaur Jr.] getting together in a couple of years, which is a bit surreal. I think we’ll do something special to celebrate that.”

• Sweep It Into Space is out now via Jagjaguwar.

As part of one of the most legendarily eardrum-obliterating bands of all time, Dinosaur Jr. co-founder Lou Barlow naturally courses plenty of powerful-yet-poppy, gain-cranked basslines throughout Sweep It Into Space, the Massachusetts-based trio’s 12th album overall, and fifth since reforming their classic line-up in 2005. 

Live, he’s happily decimating crowds with multiple stacks. It’s trickier in the studio, however, with the bassist admitting he’s still seeking an idyllic boom to best complement – or perhaps compete with – the screaming leads of guitarist J Mascis. 

“To be perfectly honest, it’s hard to get a recorded sound with Dinosaur Jr. that I feel is there,” he reveals. “Because of the nature of the way the records are mixed, the bass really gets pushed back in the mix. I have a fighting chance live – I’ve got my wall of amps, and J’s got his – but once it comes to recording, and once the overdubs start, it’s hard to get the bass to sit in the right place. 

“Every time we make a record I start from scratch, hopefully finding some magic combination that approximates the growl of what we get live. I don’t know if I’ve done that yet.” 

Though humble about his presence, Barlow’s rhythms on Sweep It Into Space are nevertheless hefty.

During sessions at Mascis’ Biquiteen attic studio in Ahmerst, MA, Barlow tracked his parts pushing a pair of Gibson Grabbers through a Marshall JCM 800 2205 “with a bunch of tubes taken out of it” and an old SVT cabinet, which all gives a gritty, mid-range sneer to strum-heavy pieces like I Ain’t, Hide Another Round, and N Say. 

Having first formed the band in 1985 with Mascis and drummer Murph, Barlow loves the moments that reflect the dynamism of Dinosaur Jr. working purely as a power trio. “It really cuts it down to the bare essentials of the band,” the bassist says of their spare, yet steel-reinforced approach.

“I think it’s a lost art with a lot of rock bands and recording techniques. People are like, ‘It sounds too empty; you’ve got to put rhythm guitars in there!’ I’ve never liked that. I think it should be like the '60s, like, ‘No, fuck that! It’s 1967 – bass in the left channel, guitar in the right.’ Cut it down and let the guitar talk. Let the bass be heard.”

That’s not to say there aren’t overdub-embellished sections on Sweep It Into Space – check, for instance, the feral, sustained bends Mascis layers atop the chunky, Crazy Horse crunging of I Met The Stones, or the spangled 12-string which album co-producer Kurt Vile brings to I Ran Away.

But on Garden and Wonder Why, notably the two tracks that Barlow penned for the set, lead sections take a more streamlined three-piece approach. Interestingly, each of these arrives as bass-on-bass moments, with Mascis laying down both the groove and some high-neck noodling on a ’65 P-Bass; Barlow handles six-strings outside of those sections.

“It’s hard to teach my guitar parts exactly to J. You know, we both have idiosyncratic styles of playing,” Barlow says of swapping roles for those particular cuts. Though he has often switched from bass to guitar across various releases from his other longtime band, Sebadoh, he and Mascis first performed their instrument exchange on 2016’s Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not. “It’s cool to change it up, and he’s into it.”

While Barlow cut his elegiac Garden and the closing alt-ballad You Wonder with Dinosaur Jr. before the pandemic shut down the sessions, a third track of his called Why Can’t It Wait didn’t make it to tape. 

Instead, it’s featured on Barlow’s latest solo LP, Reason To Live, as an acoustic piece. As for what was captured on Sweep It Into Space, the LP further refines the band’s unique, sand-blasted sonic blueprint.

“The sound of the band is something we forged when we were very young. There’s such a familiarity to it; I find it really comforting,” Barlow explains of locking into the instantly identifiable crunch of Dinosaur Jr. “My love of the Ramones’ first four or five records is just boundless; any early Black Sabbath, too. To be in a band that has this similar kind of lunk-headed energy to it plays so perfectly to my limitations. At the core of the sound, there’s something that reminds me of my youth, in a good way.” 

• Sweep It Into Space is out now via Jagjaguwar.

For any band 12 albums deep, there’s a level of normality to be expected – you’re not hovering over the play button thinking, “Okay, this is gonna be the one that really makes a stink!” This much is especially true for any band packing out theatres and shifting thousands of discs on the regular; if they stuck gold on a certain sound or formula, you can bet a hot dollar they’ll be riding it right to the grave. 

Every so often, of course, there’ll be one band eager to buck the trend. They may not completely shed their stylistic skin, but they’ll stir the pot just enough to keep longstanding fans hooked in and pique the interests of potential newcomers. In the case of genre-defining ‘90s icons Dinosaur Jr, that meant dosing up their epochal alt-rock palate with duelling lead guitars inspired by Thin Lizzy, some fresh perspective from new-age indie stalwart Kurt Vile, and a touch of empiricism brought on by J Mascis’ need to finish album #12 in isolation.

The end result is Sweep It Into Space: a defiantly melodic, emphatically energised beast of twisting grooves, pummelling riffs and hearty, heavy-hitting hooks. Australian Guitar caught up with Mascis to learn more about how Dinosaur Jr. bellied up their latest declaration of alternative dominance.

How does Sweep It Into Space add to the last 37 years of Dinosaur Jr’s creative output?
I don’t know… It’s just another album, y’know? We just wanted another set of songs to tour on. I guess having Kurt Vile around lightened the mood a little bit around the studio. Y’know, we’re just always trying to make the best record we can make at any given time.

What was the musical chemistry like between yourselves and Kurt?
I think it made Lou [Barlow, bass] and Murph [drums] feel a little more at ease, y’know, to keep slogging along, trying to learn the songs. He just made the mood a little bit lighter than usual.

Did you guys throw many ideas back and forth?
Nah. He would just listen to us play, and if he heard something he wanted to sing or play on his guitar, he’d try it – and then if I liked it I’d leave it in, and if not I’d delete it. But I liked a lot of the stuff he came up with.

My understanding is that when the pandemic hit, you were in the tail end of the recording, but you still had a little bit left to go, so you ended up doing everything yourself. What can you tell us about that last chunk of the process?
Yeah, it was strange. Y’know, I’m not great at engineering, so I had to learn few things. And I had to play some keyboards, which was a little hard. I think Kurt was going to come back at some stage, too, so who knows if he would’ve added some more stuff. I didn’t mix it at home, but that wasn’t too bad because we used the same guy that mixed the last few records [John Agnello] so it wasn’t too hard of a transition. But yeah, it was just strange more than anything.

I was watching the Fender Play interview where you stressed the importance of always learning new things to do with the guitar, no matter how long you’ve been at it. How did that apply to your approach to the guitar on this record? 
Y’know, whatever I’d learned over the last few years, I tried to apply to this record. There were a different tunings… I like to play a lot of different guitars, because they always have a unique sound. Y’know, maybe most people can’t hear any difference, but I feel that different guitars inspire me to play different things and in different ways.

What were some of those new tunings you wanted to explore?
The first song [“I Ain’t”] has got a G tuning, like the Stones used a lot. I did have another song on the last album in a G tuning, and thought, “Oh, here’s another song I can play on the same guitar during a show.” I don’t go too crazy with tunings, but it definitely makes you play differently, not knowing exactly where to put your fingers.

I read that as far as the guitar sound on this record goes, you were inspired a lot by Thin Lizzy and their duelling twin-lead sound. What was it like for you to tap into a little bit of that?
Y’know, that’s another thing – it’s probably not that evident, but that’s just what I was into at that moment, so I’d slip a few little things in. But I don’t know if you’d really notice anything if you didn’t already know about it. There’s a little bit of harmony guitar in “I Ran Away”, but it’s really nothing like what Thin Lizzy sounds like. But y’know, every album I’m usually into some different thing that I’m into more than other things.

What was your guitarsenal like for this record?
Well speaking of Thin Lizzy, I got a ’72 Les Paul Deluxe, and I used that on the rhythm part for [“I Ain’t”]. I had this St. Vincent guitar that Ernie Ball gave me, too, and I found that really useful. A lot of the time, I’ll play songs with a capo on the ninth fret, and a lot of my old guitars can’t really stay in tune with a capo that far up on the fretboard. But the Ernie Ball guitar is somehow set up so that it will, so I’d use that guitar for the parts where I needed that advantage.

What is it about that ’72 Les Paul Deluxe that makes it such a gem?
I’d never really thought about them really until I was watching those Thin Lizzy videos, and I heard that when Scott Gorham came to England and joined the band, he had such a shitty guitar that they had to go out and buy him a new one. He and Brian Robertson bought these brand new Les Paul Deluxes, and you can see them in a lot of the early videos – I know they played it on Jailbreak. And yeah, it’s not a guitar you see that many people play these days. It was around a lot when I was a kid, though. The mini humbuckers have a really unique sound that I like a lot.

Do you use many of your signature Jazzmasters in the studio?
I don’t all that much, but Lou has been playing them for his songs lately. I don’t tend to use Jazzmasters much in the recording – I guess it’s more like my live guitar now.

Why do you prefer to play those live, but others in the studio?
I tend to like to play this ’58 Tele for leads, ever since I got it right before we did Where You Been in the ‘90s – that’s been my favourite guitar to play leads on for the longest time. And I usually like to play a Les Paul Junior for rhythm. That’s kind of my basic sound for recording, and then other guitars come and go. But the Jazzmaster… I don’t know. I mean, I learned how to play on it, so that’s what I tend to play live because I’m used to it.

Has the idea of a signature Tele ever come up?
Yeah, they actually copied my Tele for a new model that’s supposed to come out in August. [Editor’s note: unfortunately we can’t share any more details about this just yet. Keep your eyes peeled, though!] 

Never ones to settle in their ways, the generation-defining pop-rock rulers in Weezer have crafted not one, but two of their most unpredictably wild albums to date: the equally introspective and operatic OK Human (which features not a single lick of electric guitar, but instead makes use of a 38-piece orchestra), and the '80s hair metal-channelling Van Weezer (which is absolutely stuffed from cover to cover with rip-roaring riffs and soaring solos). To find out how these two boundary-breaking albums came to life, Australian Guitar caught up with frontman Rivers Cuomo – who also filled us in on Weezer's notably ambitious plan for 2022, which includes an epic four-album saga!

Before you dive into that wicked five-page cover story, though, why not catch up on all the latest happenings in the Australian rock world? In Australian Guitar #143, we're showcasing You Am I, DZ Deathrays, Polish Club, The Bamboos, Liz Stringer and Teenage Joans, all of whom have ripping new records they wax lyrical about with us. And from across the pond, we've got interviews with St. Vincent, Garbage, Dinosaur Jr, Wolf Alice, Manchester Orchestra, Royal Blood and Gojira – to name just a few.

We also got down to the wire with Pearl Jam shredder Mike McCready to chat about his stunning new signature Stratocaster from the Fender Custom Shop; then stepped behind the curtain with one of the actual master builders from the Custom Shop – the legendary Kyle McMillin – to hear the backstory behind his jaw-dropping inclusion in the 2021 Fender Prestige Collection.

Speaking of iconic guitar brands doing super cool things, we get a blast from the past with a story detailing how Gibson saved Epiphone from the brink of death in the '50s. Epiphone, of course, are best known for making the best guitars a future virtuoso could dream of getting their hands on – and for those budding players among us ready to shred up a storm, we've got five essential lessons for you to give a red hot go. Once you've got the technique down, learn some classic rock anthems with our trio of tablature highlights: "Lithium" by Nirvana, "Tangerine" by Led Zeppelin and "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop.

But what if you don't want an Epiphone? What about one of the most beloved guitars of all time – the one and only Fender Stratocaster – instead? There are literally hundreds of Stratocaster models on the market, but never fear! In AG #143, we're diving deep with shootout of the best Strats you can buy right now. We'd suggest checking that feature out while you revisit the mammoth prog epic that is Tool's latest album, Fear Inoculum – then read all about how its producer, Joe Barresi, managed to capture that one-of-a-kind guitar tone in this issue's Producer Profile column.

After that, suss the Fresh Frets column to find your new favourite local band, and the Spotlight column to catch up with some of the buzziest names on the scene right now. There's also the Hot Gear column hated by wallets everywhere – and once you've drooled over all the goodies in that, head to the last pages of the magazine for a stack of reviews for the latest and greatest gear on the market.

Australian Guitar #143 is available from today at newsagents all around the country, and online via techmags.com.au or iSubscribe.

Artist interviews in this issue:

• The Bamboos
• Dropkick Murphys
• DZ Deathrays
• Garbage
• Gojira
• K.Flay
• Manchester Orchestra
• Mannequin Pussy
• The Offspring
• Pearl Jam
• Polish Club
• Rag'N'Bone Man
• Royal Blood
• St. Vincent
• Teenage Fanclub
• Teenage Joans
• Waterparks
• Weezer
• You Am I
• Joe Barresi (Producer Profile)
• Aston Valladares of Towns (Spotlight)
• Christopher Vernon of Belle Haven (Spotlight)
• Rosie Tucker (Spotlight)
• Tyne-James Organ (Spotlight)

All the hottest gear reviews:

• CME WIDI Master
• Focusrite FAST Series Plugins
• Sterling By Music Man Jason Richardson 7-String Cutlass
• Line 6 HX Stomp XL
• Fender American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster
• Cort G300 Pro
• Epiphone Inspired By Gibson J-45 + J-200
• Electro-Harmonix Oceans 12 Dual Stereo Reverb
• Victory V40 The Duchess
• Carl Martin Plexiranger
• MXR M251 FOD Drive
• MXR M305 Tremolo
• MXR M299 Carbon Copy Mini
• Boss GT-1000Core
• Boss Pocket GT
• Blackstar Carry-On Deluxe Pack
• PRS SE Custom 24 + 24-08 

Subscribe to the print edition of Australian Guitar, and you'll enjoy each new issue on the day it's published, delivered straight to your door. Click here for all the details!

Sonic Youth have released rare footage of a two-track set they performed with Dinosaur Jr. guitarist J Mascis in 1987.

Taking place at The Rat (aka The Rathskeller) – a Boston, Massachusetts venue which hosted such names as Talking Heads, the Pixies and Dead Kennedys prior to its closure in 1997 – the gig comprised two covers: Crime's Hot Wire My Heart and The Stooges classic I Wanna Be Your Dog. Mascis can be seen playing electric guitar on the latter.

The impromptu set also benefitted Boston-based independent music magazine Forced Exposure.

Sharing the footage to YouTube, Sonic Youth writes: “The short, unannounced SY set consists of two covers - performed on gear borrowed from Dredd Foole and the Din... Steve Albini is the MC and J Mascis joins us on additional guitar on The Stooges cover.”

Dinosaur Jr. dropped their first album in five years, Sweep It Into Space, last month, following 2016's Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not. Released through Jagjaguwar, the full-length was recorded at J Mascis's Biquiteen Studios in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was co-produced by Kurt Vile.

More recently, Mascis appeared on the latest episode of Fender's Re-Creation YouTube series. Wielding a Fender Acoustasonic Jazzmaster, the guitarist delivered a brand-new rendition of Dinosaur Jr.'s Freak Scene, taken from 1988's Bug.

J Mascis has delivered a new rendition of Dinosaur Jr.'s Freak Scene – taken from the band's 1988 album Bug – on the latest episode of Fender's Re-Creation YouTube series.

For the performance, Mascis sends a Tobacco Sunburst-finished variant of Fender's new American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster through his vast pedalboard – showcasing both the stellar clean and dirty tones achievable through the Big F's latest hybrid guitar model.

Watch as he switches seamlessly between an acoustic guitar-type tone for the vocal-driven sections, a punk-esque fuzz-driven tone for the guitar-only passages and a howling, gain-drenched tone for the guitar solo. 

J Mascis's performance is the third episode of Fender's Re-Creation series, after appearances by Lindsey Buckingham and Jeff Tweedy. The series sees artists, players, producers and music-makers reimagine classic songs with the new American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster.

Dinosaur Jr.'s twelfth studio album Sweep It Into Space is set to arrive tomorrow (April 23) via Jagjaguwar. The alt-rock trio's first full length since 2016's Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, the twelve-track album is co-produced by Kurt Vile.

For more information on the new American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster, head to Fender.

If you’re reading this, congratulations! You’ve made it through another week – mostly. We can show you cool new guitar music, but unfortunately we haven’t been granted the authority to unilaterally make today Friday.

Speaking of cool new guitar music though, we’ve found a group of new tunes this week that should – whether you want to push your sound system into the red and get a notice of complaint from your neighbors, or find your new yoga soundtrack – contain at least something that strikes your fancy.

This week we’ve got a breezy, country-fried rocker from Dinosaur Jr., a monstrous slab of tech-metal from Ghost Iris, some bluesy, high-gain bliss from Smith/Kotzen, otherworldly playing from Flock of Dimes, and a whole lot more.

So tune in and press play, there should be something here to get you through the rest of the week, and some of the next one.

Smith/Kotzen – Scars 

With the release of the long-awaited debut album from rock guitar heroes Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen only weeks away, the powerful pair have followed up their stomping lead single with another tasty offering, Scars.

Harking back to the blues-rock sounds of the ‘70s, Scars is everything you’d expect from a Smith/Kotzen track – high-gain guitars galore, killer swampy drop-tuned hooks and decorative lead lines that litter the track with the bluesy swagger.

As an added bonus, the song boasts not one, but two, guitar solos that see Smith and Kotzen trade lines as they tear through a delicious display of rapid-fire call-and-response sweeps and searing scale runs.

If you didn’t think it possible to be any more excited for the album’s release on March 26, Scars will prove you wrong. (MO)

Flock of Dimes - Price of Blue

Jenn Wasner is a bewitching guitarist, and her work with Wye Oak has been responsible for some of the most enthralling chord progressions of the 21st century.

This year, she revives solo project Flock of Dimes – but what was once a masterclass in synth-pop has mutated into something a little closer to her six-string WO stylings – and perhaps even beyond.

Price of Blue is indicative of a reinvigorated guitar-focused approach, all chiming arpeggios and open tunings, but the tremolo-laden lead lines – culminating in what we’d confidently categorize as a bona fide guitar solo – indicate that April’s forthcoming Head of Roses will find Wasner elevating her already otherworldly playing to new heights. We can’t wait to hear what that entails. (MAB)

Ghost Iris – Desert Dread (feat. Mark Hunter)

Ahead of their upcoming fourth studio album Comatose, Danish tech metallers Ghost Iris have enlisted Chimaira lead vocalist Mark Hunter for new single Desert Dread.

The four-piece spare listeners little respite from the outset, immediately blasting off with a searing pinch-harmonic-infused guitar riff, before accelerating into the monstrous, no doubt mosh-inducing verse section.

On the track’s philosophical meaning, the band say, “It’s a song that delves into the topic of anti-natalism and the choices thereof. Undesirable outcomes that have severe consequences. Choice is [a] desert of dread, one where we must choose wisely.” (SR)

Dinosaur Jr. – I Ran Away

Perhaps the only ‘80s-era American indie titan that’s still not only standing, but churning out records equal to those of their heyday in quality, Dinosaur Jr. are back with Sweep It Into Space, their first new album in nearly five years. 

Co-produced by Kurt Vile, the album – from the sounds of its first single, I Ran Away – seems primed to deliver another bundle of noisy, swirling, distorto-pop gems with sweet-as-candy melodies and hooks, i.e. what the Amherst, Massachusetts trio has been best in the business at for decades.

With Vile lending some airiness to the song with sturdy 12-string strumming, J. Mascis putting his cowboy hat on for some wonderful lead-work and reaching back to his favorite classic rock influences for a soaringly epic solo, and the rhythm section – Lou Barlow on bass and Murph on drums – as powerful as ever, I Ran Away is the sound of one of rock’s greatest power trios having a blast doing what they do best. (JM)

Flying Cupid – Into the Light

Flying Cupid – the solo project of Indian-born guitarist Abhiruk Patowary – is a must-listen if you’re in any way metal-inclined. A multi-instrumentalist and recent student of the Berklee School of Music, Patowary utilizes Flying Cupid as a conduit for his out-of-this-world compositions, most recently on his latest release, Into the Light.

The second single from his debut EP Reflections – due out later this year – the track channels a multitude of metalcore influences, from the endlessly melodic cleans of Killswitch Engage to the modern-styled drop-tuned leads of Periphery. The result? An astonishing display of guitar wizardry encased within a truly catchy piece of music. (SR)

Bachelor – Anything At All

High-profile musical meetings-of-the-minds often end up being less than the sum of their individual parts, but from the sounds of their first single together as Bachelor, Anything At All, Jay Som and Palehound have a unique, natural chemistry that will easily overcome the (often ego-driven) supergroup curse.

Driven by a slinky bass line, playful piano and a captivating melange of guitarwork that immaculately blends dissonance and tightly coiled riffage, Anything At All is a scintillating first taste of what we hope will be a debut full-length. We’ll be on the edge of our seats waiting. (JM)

Black Honey - Disinfect

UK alt-rock upstarts Black Honey just keep getting better and better. Disinfect is a brooding, apocalyptic rocker that points to Jesus Lizard with one hand and salutes Nine Inch Nails with the other.

The track’s gnarly modulation and fuzz-rich guitar tones highlight the textural nous that sets Izzy Phillips and Chris Ostler apart from their contemporaries, while that pounding chorus is as devastating as the track’s lyrical content. (MAB)

Joanna Connor – Destination 

When does a blues track become a work of art? It’s up for debate, but to say it is when guitar great Joanna Connor unleashes an out-of-this-world slide guitar solo is as good an answer as any.

That’s what listeners are treated to with Destination – a raucous rollercoaster of a track that doesn’t stop for a breather until its run time is up. Boasting a high-energy solo intro that precedes three minutes of full-throttle guitar, Connor is at the peak of her powers, dazzling us with a masterclass of fretboard-spanning slides and bluesy lead lines.

If Destination has you craving more Connor action, fear not – her new Joe Bonamassa and Josh Smith-produced album is out tomorrow (February 26). (MO)

Cassandra Jenkins – Crosshairs 

A highlight of the New York City singer/songwriter’s phenomenally lush new album, An Overview on Phenomenal Nature, Crosshairs is an absolute thing of beauty. 

Aside from California Dreamin' and Nico’s Chelsea Girls, you won’t hear flute get used more effectively in a rock song. Here, it adds an especially ethereal touch to a soundscape that will do wonders to lower your internal temperature.

Topped off with some skyscraping guitar leads and a luxurious, vibrato-heavy solo, Crosshairs is an effortless masterpiece of arrangement. (JM)

The Wrong Sides – Quietus Me 

Every once in a while, a band emerges promising to be the “next big thing” in prog-rock music. The case can certainly be put forward for Israel Romero’s band The Wrong Sides, whose new single Quietus Me gives us a taste of the axeman’s seriously impressive chops.

Fans of Dream Theater, take note – Romero’s playthrough of the track offers up a dizzying array of technical ferocity, with the Puerto Rican guitarist gracefully transitioning between upper-register lead licks and chugging chordal constructions.

With a commanding grasp on melody, and an expertly crafted combination of tone and technique, Romero’s rendition of Quietus Me is sure to satisfy your daily desire for prog-rock guitar. (MO)

Alice Phoebe Lou - Dirty Mouth

2021 sees the return of the South African singer-songwriter, and Vox Apache in hand, she’s determined to bring the feelgood factor to the tail-end of the pandemic.

Dirty Mouth is positivity punk in action: its sugary-sweet chord progressions, boundless drums and unrestrained lyrical stylings are an utter joy. (MAB)

Alt-rock heavyweights Dinosaur Jr. have announced new album Sweep It Into Space, and shared a glimpse of what's on offer with new single I Ran Away.

After its scheduled mid-2020 release date was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new record is set to arrive April 23 via Jagjaguwar, and is the trio's first since 2016's Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not.

Recorded at frontman J Mascis's Biquiteen Studios in Amherst, Massachusetts, Sweep It Into Space was co-produced by Kurt Vile – who also played 12-string guitar on I Ran Away.

However, due to the March lockdown heralded by the pandemic, the band's time with Vile was cut short, leaving Mascis to mimic some of his guitar lines on the new single.

“I was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, so I was trying to get some of that dueling twin lead sound,” he recalls.

“But the recording session was pretty well finished by the time things really hit the fan. When the lockdown happened in March, that meant I was on my own. But it was cool.”

Check out Sweep It Into Space's tracklisting below:

1. I Ain’t
2. I Met The Stones
3. To Be Waiting
4. I Ran Away
5. Garden
6. Hide Another Round
7. And Me
8. I Expect It Always
9. Take It Back
10. N Say
11. Walking To You
12. You Wonder

As the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of hard-rocking indie pioneers Dinosaur Jr., and with two Fender signature electric guitars to his name, J Mascis is perhaps better known for wielding a heavily fuzz-laden Jazzmaster in front of a wall of Marshall amps cranked to ear-splitting volume than strumming a rare 1950s Gibson flat-top. 

Yet despite J’s punk-rock roots, he has long been renowned for his dynamic live solo acoustic performances, as captured by his 1993 debut acoustic recording Live At CBGB’s (released in 2006) and 1996’s live solo album, Martin + Me. 

Following the release of 2018's mesmerising acoustic LP Elastic Days, we caught up with J in the midst of a UK tour to find him playing an equally fascinating choice of guitars.

It’s unusual to see a Gibson CF-100E being gigged. How did you discover them?

“Gibson made them in the 50s. It’s the same neck as a Gold Top – that’s why I got into them. When Gibson did their [centennial] anniversary series, they had a different acoustic every month for a year and I got a [1994 Gibson 1950 CF-100E]. That was the first one I got. Now I have five altogether, with that newer one. Two are CF-100s and the others are CF-100Es. But one of the [CF-100Es] doesn’t have the pickup or knobs. It was trashed. The previous owner took the electrics out. He decided it sounded better without them in because it didn’t buzz as much. Most of the [Gibson CF-100E] guitars are in Japan and they’re expensive over there. [Tamio Okuda] plays one. He’s got a signature model with Gibson.”

How do these old 50s flat-tops manage to survive on tour?

“They’re a little fragile. I went to Australia from winter to summer and the neck went a bit weird on one of them. The frets were popping out. I had to get it set up again.”

It’s perhaps even rarer to see a CF-100E being used with effects pedals. What’s on your ’board?

“It first goes into a JangleBox compressor, which I use occasionally. Then it’s a [Z.Vex] Silicon Fuzz Factory 7. I think they only made six of those. I like them better than the germanium ones. I prefer the tone – it’s a little bit tougher sounding. That goes to the A/DA Flanger, then the [MXR] Carbon Copy delay, and then to the [Z.Vex] Lo-Fi Loop Junky. And I’ve got a [Boss Waza Craft TU-3W] tuner. You can tell the signal sounds a bit better going through it, and the lights are different colours. I’m singing through the [Boss DM-2W] Waza Craft Delay. I was using a Moog [Minifooger MF Delay], but it broke and I haven’t had a chance to get it fixed. I like the Boss pedal for singing because I don’t have to look at it as much. I just hit it now and again.”

What amps are you using on this tour?

“Just one Vox [AC30C2]. The AC30 Hand-Wired amps sound good, too. I like the master volume for the acoustic; I can just drive it a little more. I’ve got some old Vox amps. I have a ’59 AC15 I record a lot with.”

How do you find the hand-wired reissue amps compare to the originals?

“The Marshall [1959HW] hand-wired Plexis sound pretty good. But I notice that some of the Marshall Plexi copies sound really weird. I mean, maybe that’s how Marshalls sounded when they were new,but I don’t like it. Some of them are really oppressive sounding. They’re almost too loud or something – like too much low-mid and no pizzazz. 

"I’m not used to Marshalls at 240 [volts] either. It’s a different sound.I really notice it. It’s a bit louder, there’s more low-end and it’s more powerful sounding. I’d rather just play them at 110 [volts] if I can because I’m used to that. If I want to bring my own amps on tour, once in a while I’ll ship one or two over and use a [mains step down transformer], but I don’t bring that much stuff over here. I use them more often in the States.”

Do you collect amps?

“I’ve got a lot of amps. Mainly Vox, Marshall and Fender. I like Tweed Fenders. I’ve got a Deluxe, a Champ, a Bandmaster and a high-powered Twin. I know a Vox collector in America, and I’ve picked a few up, but I’d like to have more. I’d like a ’61 AC15. I looked at one over here eight years ago and the guy wanted £3,000. Two years ago, it was still in the shop, but he wanted £5,000! I prefer gear that’s been fucked with because it’s cheaper. That’s kind of my style – refinished guitars and shit that’s cheaper, rather than museum-quality stuff. Then I can buy more and feel better about using it. I don’t want to spend £5,000 on an amp.”

A lot of guitarists seem to like recording with Vox AC15s…

“I used a hand-wired AC15 for some leads [on Elastic Days]. I tried to play all the leads on acoustic. It’s a different sound playing leads on an acoustic, but I just got burnt out and ended up using electric for some of the songs. I normally play leads on Fenders – I used the ’58 Telecaster and I used a Jazzmaster for four of the songs, but the others are acoustic.”

Tell us about your ’58 Tele…

“It’s my favourite guitar. I play most of the solos on my records with it. It was refinished when I got it, so I painted it blue sparkle. It had a ’56 pickup put in which has a really nice kind of P-90 quality. It’s a toploader guitar. There are no holes in the back. I’m used to top-loaders. It’s a little easier to bend [strings]. A lot of Tele people poohpooh the top loader, but I don’t know why.”

What guitars are on your bucket list?

“It’d be fun to have a ’54 Strat. The first Strat I got was a Roland Ready Strat to play guitar synth with back in the 90s. Then I got a Rory [Gallagher] Strat. I’ve got a ’59 Strat. It’s got gold hardware and it’s been refinished black – well, almost black, it has a bit of a grey tinge to it. I saw a video of Stevie Ray Vaughan playing a Strat in the studio and it looked like the same guitar. Maybe it was Stevie Ray Vaughan’s! [laughs] 

"The problem is, I find myself playing stuff that just sounds too much like a Strat. I like Teles and Jazzmasters better. I don’t always feel like myself when I play a Strat. It makes my fingers go a certain way. My ’59 Strat has got a tiny neck. Sometimes I like a bigger neck, but I don’t have a preference; it just depends on the guitar. I don’t know until I pick it up. It’s more about the whole guitar.

“I like jumbo frets, though. I’ll sometimes get my guitars refretted. I’ve had a Mosrite for years that I never played because the fingerboard was like a rollercoaster, but I just got it fixed with a new fingerboard and put jumbo frets on it. I bought it in the early 90s for, like, 200 bucks and it was pretty fucked. I’ve just spent 500 bucks fixing it. It’s a bit like my late-60s Brazilian rosewood [Martin] D-28S: it went in for a setup and repairs – they fixed the braces and moved the bridge – and the difference is like night and day. I got my D-28S fixed because it was kind of getting hard to play, but I really like that one now. I recorded a bunch with that [on Elastic Days].”

What do you like about the D-28S?

“I like how wide the neck is. The first Martin guitar I got was also a 12-fret model; I really got used to that neck. So I was told, it was an experimental model from the 60s.The [factory staff ] would sometimes make some wacky guitar for themselves and it’s one of those. It’s pretty cool. It’s a smallbodied guitar, a bit like an old [Martin] New Yorker or a classical.”

Some people find rosewood can be a bit boomy when recording. How did you go about recording the D-28S?

“I guess you can always cut the low-end later in the mix, but I tend to go for boomy. I use two 4038 Coles mics: one near the neck and one near the body.”

Did you mostly use the D-28S to record Elastic Days?

“That and a 50s [Martin] D-18. I mainly used those two, but also a [Martin] 000-18, a ’65 [Gibson] Dove and that old experimental Martin occasionally. I buy guitars for an album hoping they’ll have songs in them, which is why I bought the D-18 and the Dove. I also bought a [Gibson] J-55. I had a Dove from the late 60s, but it was too bright.I didn’t like it. It was kind of tinny sounding. But [the ’65] sounds great. I like the way the tune-o-matic bridge sounds; it’s somehow part of the character.”

How did you go about recording drums for Elastic Days?

“I played guitar first, which was tough. It’s easier to play drums first. Playing with a click makes it a bit easier, I guess. I didn’t plan on having drums on the whole album. I was trying to stay more acoustic. But I played drums on one song and then just kept on playing, so it ended up on all the songs. I’d just got this new drum set I really liked – a Ludwig kit that somebody special-ordered in 1970 with a 28-inch bass drum that I like to use.”

Where was Elastic Days recorded?

“In my studio at home. I’ve been working with John Agnello since ’92. I don’t even go up in the room when he’s mixing it. I would just sit in the kitchen. When we’ve been working all day long, we have a system: he mixes it while I sit in the kitchen and he brings down a CD for me to listen to on the stereo. So, instead of sitting me there mixing all day, my ears are always kind of fresh. I don’t have to listen to it a million times and he knows kind of what I like. I’m used to my stereo, so that’s the best place to listen.”

How have you been enjoying the tour?

“Glasgow was the best show. I really liked it. London [at Islington’s Assembly Hall] was good, but it was kind of nerve wracking. It was kind of a big place for me to be playing acoustic, so I was a little nervous. This size [Thekla] is more manageable. When it gets to around 1,000 people, it’s a bit overwhelming standing there alone. You just have to get used to it. I’ve seen Richard Thompson play in bigger venues over the years, but I think he can handle it!” [laughs]"

Dinosaur Jr. singer and guitarist J Mascis will release a new solo album, Elastic Days, on November 9 via Sub Pop. He’s unveiled the first single from the record, “See You at the Movies,” which alternates breezy acoustic strumming with his trademark fuzz-heavy, strangled guitar leads.

Mascis recorded Elastic Days at his own Bisquiteen studio. He played most of the instruments himself, though there are also contributions from keyboardist Ken Miauri, Pall Jenkins (Black Heart Procession), Mark Mulcahy (Miracle Legion, etc.) and Zoë Randell (Luluc). The album is the follow-up to his 2014 solo effort, Tied to a Star. Dinosaur Jr. also released their eleventh studio album, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, in 2016.

Elastic Days can be pre-ordered through megamart.subpop.com; select independent retailers will receive the limited Loser Edition on clear w/purple swirl vinyl (while supplies last).

Elastic Days Tracklisting:

1. See You At The Movies

2. Web So Dense

3. I Went Dust

4. Sky Is All We Had

5. Picking Out the Seeds

6. Give It Off

7. Drop Me

8. Cut Stranger

9. Elastic Days

10. Sometimes

11. Wanted You Around

12. Everything She Said

J Mascis 2018 Tour Dates:

Nov. 07 – Vancouver, BC – Imperial

Nov. 08 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater

Nov. 09 – Seattle, WA – Tractor

Nov. 10 – Bellingham, WA – Wild Buffalo

Nov. 14 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s

Nov. 15 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar

Nov. 16 – Los Angeles, CA – Lodge Room

Nov. 17 – Denver, CO – Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox

Nov. 18 – Fort Collins, CO – Washington’s

Nov. 20 – Chicago, IL – City Winery

Nov. 21 – Chicago, IL – City Winery

Nov. 27 – Atlanta, GA – City Winery

Nov. 28 – Nashville, TN – City Winery

Nov. 29 – Louisville, KY – Zanzabar

Nov. 30 – Detroit, MI – El Club

Dec. 01 – Toronto, ON – Great Hall

Dec. 04 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe

Dec. 05 – Washington, DC – City Winery

Dec. 07 – Brooklyn, NY – Rough Trade

Dec. 08 – New York, NY – Public Arts

Dec. 09 – Hamden, CT – Space Ballroom

Dec. 12 – Providence, RI – The Met

Dec. 13 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair

Dec. 14 – Northampton, MA – The Academy of Music

Dec. 15 – Portland, ME – Port City Music Hall

I guess you could say this about any recent year, but 2012 often felt a lot like the late '70s.

We got high-profile studio releases by Van Halen, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Rush, Kiss, Joe Walsh, Asia, Ringo Starr, Alvin Lee, Jeff Lynne and two members of The Jam, plus a live Led Zeppelin album and a pair of new songs by The Rolling Stones.

But, notwithstanding the throwback angle, it was a solid, exciting year for new music, chock full of stellar guitar music in every genre, including gypsy jazz (It didn't make my list, but be sure to check out the very cool Origins album by gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel).

Anyway, here are some of my favorite albums of the year. Note that I kept this list to studio albums only. If I were to include a live album, Led Zeppelin's Celebration Day would be in the top five for sure. The band set out to impress that fateful night in December 2007, and that's exactly what they did.

One last thing: If I were to extend this list to a top 20, I'd include albums by two former members of The Jam — frontman Paul Weller (Sonik Kicks) and bassist Bruce Foxton (Back in the Room). Foxton's album, which was recorded with Weller's assistance and at his studio, sounds like a Sound Affects-era Jam album packed with Foxton's easily identifiable bass playing.

Anyway, as fake director Marty DiBergi says in This Is Spinal Tap, "Enough of my yakkin'. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie!"

Damian Fanelli is the online managing editor at Guitar World in New York City.

Today, Weezer announced they'll be curating the Weezer Cruise, a music festival-at-sea, January 19 to 23, 2012. The cruise takes place aboard the Carnival Destiny, sailing from Miami to the island of Cozumel, off the coast of Mexico.

Along with Weezer and 2,500 passengers, there will be 15 other bands on hand, including Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Gene Ween and Dave Dreiwitz, Wavves, The Antlers, Yuck, Free Energy, Boom Bip, J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, Keepaway, Ozma, The Nervous Wreckords, The Knocks, Sleeper Agent and Yacht Rock Review.

Shows will take place around the ship through the day and night, festival-style. Weezer will perform on the pool deck as the ship pulls out and then again in the indoor main theater.

Prices start at $799 per person for double cabins, or four people can sail together for just $599 per person. For more info about the cruise, visit theweezercruise.com. For more about Weezer on tour, visit weezer.com.

Some indie rock veterans are elitist, aloof and mistrusting. They’ll give entire interviews that don’t warrant a single pull-quote, just to be difficult or hipper than thou.

Many writers mistake J Mascis as being an archetype of this character. He rarely speaks full sentences when a few words will do, never tells funny stories and doesn’t reveal anything about himself - ever.

What makes Mascis different from, say, Lou Reed, is he’s not willfully difficult, he’s just uncomfortable talking to people and unintentionally awkward.

Fortunately, when he picks up a guitar, he’s capable of sublime articulation, playing extended angular blues-based leads and emotionally volcanic rhythms as easily as he flips a switch and cranks his amps to full volume. Mascis is best known for his work with Dinosaur Jr., the band he formed in 1984 with bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph.

Since their 1985 debut Dinosaur, Dinosaur Jr. have released nine albums, each with its own artful, sometimes whimsical perspective on melancholy, desperation and hopelessness. Such heavy-handed content isn’t something Mascis – who refers to his songs as “pretty much excuses just to solo” is willing or even capable of discussing, but it’s all there in the skewed metallic folk melodies and deafening walls of fuzz.

Few of the band’s albums express such chaos with as much potency as 1988’s Bug, a turbulent, schizophrenic disc that see-saws between brain-frazzling noise and wistful reflection, balancing for a few minutes with the poppy and expressive “Freak Scene.”

On Monday, June 20, Dinosaur Jr. launched an eight-date U.S. tour, on which they are playing Bug in full. The June 25 show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., will be filmed for the second installment of the DVD series “In the Hands of the Fans.” Six winners the “In the Hands of the Fans” contest will shoot the show along with director Dave Markey.

Each of the winners submitted short, high-definition video segments with either interview questions for Mascis or a monologue explaining why they should be a part of the June 25 video crew. Last September, MVD Entertainment Group conducted a similar contest for Iggy Pop.

In addition to “In The Hands of the Fans,” Dinosaur Jr. just released a cassette re-release of Bug through Joyful Noise.

Guitar World talked to Mascis about “In the Hands of the Fans,” why he chose to tour with Bug, effects, gear he’ll lug along on tour and what he’s working on outside of the Dinosaur camp.

How did you get involved with the “In the Hands of the Fans” series?

Somebody contacted us about it and we thought it was a good idea. At least you don’t have some pushy camera man blocking a fan. I don’t really know that much about it. I think it’ll be like 30 or 60 [people shooting]. I’m not sure.

Are you looking forward to playing Bug in its entirety?

Yeah, some of the songs have never been played before, so it will be interesting to see if I can remember they go. The first time I heard of someone playing one of their albums in concert it was Cheap Trick quite a few years ago. They were playing their first album, and I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

Why Bug as opposed to 1987’s You’re Living All Over Me or, say, 1991’s Green Mind? Does it work better for you as a cohesive piece from beginning to end?

No, it’s my least-favorite record, so that will be interesting in a way. We did You’re Living All Over Me once. But we got asked to do Bug for All Tomorrow’s Parties in England [which takes place July 1]. I guess the organizers like that album, and we decided if we were gonna do it there then we’d try it some other places, too.You also just re-released Bug on cassette tape; It may be the top-selling tape this week.Yeah, you know, I’m always into cassette. At least they seem to be the longest-lasting medium we used to have. I don’t play cassettes much anymore, but I play records all the time. We’re gonna re-release the first three albums on vinyl as well this year. Dinosaur Jr. are much louder than most live bands. Is there a particular reason you like to crank everything so high?Yeah, definitely. It’s more fun for me to feel the sound as well as hear it. Feeling the speakers moving and hitting me in the back definitely helps for me to play and makes me more excited to play.Do you use earplugs?I’ve always worn earplugs, but I’m sure my hearing’s not great.What kind of rig are you going to use for the Bug shows?There’s a few things I was going to mess around with, like a spring reverb. “No Bones” has some reverb that I kick around. I’ll see if that lasts or if it breaks in a day.What’s the rest of your rig consist of?I play a Fender Jazzmaster and three stacks and a combo, two old Marshall Plexis and a Hiwatt combo and a Hiwatt combo with Marshall cabs.You seem to prefer using vintage gear.Yeah, definitely. I like a lot of stuff from the ‘70s. If you could make them sound good now I’d use ‘em, but the old ones always seem to sound better, still.What’s the rest of your pedal board going to be like?I’ll have my regular pedal board, which consists of an old [Electro-Harmonix] Big Muff, a Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler combined with an Overdrive and a Z.Vex Double Rock, which is two Boxes of Rock in one pedal. And I have a Realtube Overdrive and an Electric Mistress Flanger and a Custom Audio Effect Tremolo and a KR Megavibe univibe copy. Is there any new Dinosaur Jr. material written for the follow-up to 2009’s Farm?I might have a couple. We’ve talked about getting together soon to maybe work on a new record.What direction would you like to take with the next record?I don’t know. It’s too early to tell.Are you working on any other music for soundtracks or collaborations?Yeah, I’m gonna do the soundtrack for the new Alison Anders movie. I’m not sure what it’s called. I haven’t done anything on it yet. But I think it has gotta be done by the end of the summer.

Indie godfathers Dinosaur Jr. have announced the reissue of their classic 1988 album, Bug, on cassette via Joyful Noise Recordings. Slated for release on June 21, the cassette reissue coincides with the band's 15-date US/European tour, during which Bug will be performed live in its entirety.

Originally released on cassette in 1988 via the legendary SST label, this is the first ever reissue of a Dinosaur Jr. album on its original cassette format. Hell - as far as we can tell, this is the first ever cassette reissue of any album originally released on the format.

Available in extremely limited quantities, the Bug cassette is limited only 250 hand-numbered copies, on high-quality purple tapes, with eight-panel original artwork.

Bug cassettes can be ordered for $12 here. Only 125 copies of Bug are available for purchase online. The remaining 125 copies will be sold on the Bug tour.

TOUR DATES:

• (Dinosaur Jr. performing Bug in its entirety at each show)
• June 21 - Northampton, MA @ Calvin Theatre
• June 22 - Boston, MA @ The Paradise
• June 23 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
• June 24 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• June 25 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• June 26 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
• June 27 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
• July 1 - London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
• July 2 - Paris, France @ Gaite Lyrique
• July 3 - Ferrara, Italy @ Ferrara Sotto Le Stelle
• July 4 - Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
• July 5 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Rivierenhof
• July 7 - Helsinki, Finland @ Tavastia Club
• July 8 - Stockholm, Sweden @ Gota Kallare
• July 9 - Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall

Here's the video for a Bug tune, "Freak Scene":