Dinosaur Jr. has announced details for the band’s 12th studio album, Sweep It Into Space, and shared the lead single, “I Ran Away”. Out on April 23rd via Jagjaguwar, the album was co-produced by Kurt Vile who also plays 12-string guitar on the lead single.
The trio—comprised of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph—originally began the project back in fall 2019 at Amherst’s Biquiteen with help from Vile. Dinosaur Jr. had originally planned to release Sweep It Into Space in mid-2020 until the pandemic derailed those plans. As the group retreated into quarantine, Dinosaur Jr. was forced to finish the album without Vile, though Mascis said he ended up “mimicking a few things” that Vile had laid down during the initial sessions.
“I was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, so I was trying to get some of that dueling twin lead sound,” Mascis said in a press release. “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.”
The lead single puts that Thin Lizzy adoration on full display as Vile dons a 12-string guitar that pairs with Mascis’ six-string. The 3:30-minute quickie delivers just the right amount of rock energy encapsulated behind a catchy chorus. A video for “I Ran Away”, released along with the album’s announcement, pairs the song with a visualizer of the album’s chromatic cover.
Watch the video for Dinosaur Jr.’s latest single, “I Ran Away” off the forthcoming album Sweep It Into Space. The album is available for pre-order here. Scroll down to see the cover art and a full tracklist.
Dinosaur Jr. – “I Ran Away” (Official Visualizer)
[Video: dinosaurjr]
