Music Blog

J. Mascis has been one the most important figures in alternative rock for about 25 years now. If that's debatable, no one would argue against the Dinosaur Jr. front man being one of the most consistently mind-blowing guitarists to see on stage.

Sub Pop will be releasing Several Shades of Why, an almost entirely acoustic album from J. Mascis on March 15th. The album features a ton of notable special guests including Kurt Vile, Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Sophie Trudeau (A Silver Mount Zion), and many more. Even though the concepts "acoustic" and "J. Mascis" aren't neccessarily related in my mind, he has been performing solo for years, playing songs from Dinosaur Jr. and his side project, J. Mascis and the Fog. So perhaps it's been an album in the making. Whatever your take, it's nice to hear that signature rasp in any setting.

Album track, "Not Enough", has been in circulation for a few weeks now. The drifting Americana-tinged song   bears an umistakable Mascis tone even if the backdrop feels a bit different. Probably not a bad overall prediction for Several Shades of Why.

J. Mascis will bring his iconic shoulder-length hair, an acoustic guitar (and maybe his sparkly puple Fender Jazzmaster) to Dante's on April 30th.  

Here's a promotional video for the record. Few words for (and in) this one: