Send "J Mascis " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 On Dinosaur Jr.'s self-titled 1985 debut, J Mascis sang, "I never try that much 'cause I'm scared of feeling." Over the last 26 years, Mascis has produced a number of guitar-rock touchstones, yet it's been tough to tell exactly how much effort and emotion has gone into his work. Cited as one of the original slackers, his demeanor is infamously laconic to the point of aloofness; even as he peels off some of the most ear-busting guitar solos you've ever heard live, he sometimes looks like he's about to doze off while doing so. Meanwhile, his words-- usually involving vague alienation and confusion-- are often drowned out by the ungodly squall behind him. Across his career, Mascis has let distortion, excess wattage, and virtuoso technique do most of the talking for him, and the translation can be surprisingly clear. But Several Shades of Why is different.It's his first solo album of all original material and it's almost entirely acoustic. Here, the grey-haired 45 year old's weathered husk of a voice is close-mic'd and clear, as if he's drawling mere inches away from your head at all times. And while he was rightfully dubbed "the first American indie rock guitar hero" by Michael Azerrad in Our Band Could Be Your Life-- and has backed that claim up with countless memorable solos-- the songs on Several Shades of Why are marked by background strums and finger-picking rather than spotlit wails. By using his own name and going with such bare sonics, it's reasonable to suggest that this album could be Mascis' most knowingly personal albums yet. On the title track, he clears up the whole "trying" issue, kind of. "I'm not saying much, I tried hard, that's all I do," he croaks, his feelings of hurt, wisdom, and wistfulness fearlessly up-front. Though the album is confessional in nature, the reveals are relative-- there are no clear narratives and almost comically nondescript song titles like "Not Enough", "What Happened", and "Is It Done", are good representations of the ambiguous pronouns (and profundity) found therein. Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow once said Mascis "had nothing to say, yet he had everything to say," which is about right. But, even considering the imprecise language, Mascis does a fair amount of telling through his indelible voice, which wears its years with crackling grace. Though Neil Young has been a common reference point for Mascis' vocals since he first opened his mouth to sing, Several Shades of Why has him going for After the Gold Rush-type intimacy like never before. So when he finishes the Laurel Canyon hangover track "Not Enough" with "I know my love is over/ And I wish I didn't know," the simple admission carries serious heft....full text |
| Popmatters |
| So much for guitar hero J Mascis, at least for this record. The guy known for shredding up front in Dinosaur Jr. is taking a different approach to his first solo studio record, Several Shades of Why. His first album for Sub Pop is all acoustic, hushed throughout, and despite its general lack of rock and roll, the album’s intricate layers and subtle tension create their own energy. Mascis has kind of approached this before, with 1996’s Martin & Me. That excellent live document, though, transferred the crunching energy of original Dinosaur Jr. tunes—and a few covers—into the solo acoustic setting. Several Shades of Why is much more antithetical to the guitar jams of Mascis’s band. Even his creaking voice is scaled down here. “Very Nervous and Love”, which sounds like a time for tense shrieks, is whispered out in groans. He employs the same confessional quiet on the spare “Too Deep”, and the title track lets the intricate finger picking and strings add flourishes around Mascis, while his voice falls into despondency—“It all ends in disaster,” he sighs at one point. It’s a curious statement for a guy whose album deals an awful lot in waiting. The tension in these humble sounds comes out in Mascis’s trying to wait for someone (“Listen to Me”), asking someone to wait for him (“Is It Done”), and knowing that waiting won’t get him much (“Too Deep”). Still, the quiet insistence that comes out of all of these angles makes the album work. “Is It Done” is a particularly striking example of this tension, as the verses are full of cut-off, squawking lines, but the chorus ends in a calm cascade of notes, and Mascis’s voice softens to a heartfelt plea....full text |
| Rocksound |
| We last encountered J Mascis playing drums in his friends’ band Sweet Apple. Typically then, on what is, believe it or not, his first solo album, he’s done away with drums all together. The result is a beautifully fragile acoustic record that positions him as the missing link between Kurt Cobain and Johnny Cash. You could imagine some of these tunes, the gruff blub of ‘Not Enough’ or the repressed power of ‘Too Deep’, say, as Dinosaur Jr songs with a bit more amplification but it’s the delicacy and poise of the string-embellished title track that’s really astonishing. It adds another level to a legend that needed no embellishment....full text |
J Mascis lyrics
|
| |||||||
