Dinosaur Jr. Announce New Album, Share Lead Single ‘I Ran Away’

Dinosaur Jr. have announced a new album Sweep It Into Space, out April 23rd via Jagjaguwar, and dropped its lead single “I Ran Away.”

Originally scheduled for mid-2020, Sweep It Into Space is the band’s first LP since 2016’s Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, and was recorded at Amherst’s Biquiteen in late autumn of 2019 following a U.S. tour. Kurt Vile co-produced the album, and performs the lead 12-string guitar on “I Ran Away.”

When recording with Vile was disrupted by the pandemic, lead singer J. Mascis states he “ended up just mimicking a few things [Vile had] done. I was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, so I was trying to get some of that dueling twin lead sound. 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.”

In the midst of the pandemic, Mascis participated in Third Man Records’ at-home live performance series, appearing alongside Olivia Jean, Kelley Stoltz, Redd Kross, Dale Crover, Luke Schneider, and more. Meanwhile, his bandmate, Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow, commemorated the 15th anniversary of his solo album Emoh with a reissue, released in July via Merge Records.