Martin and Me |
More Light |
Several Shades of Why
It's funny to hear J Mascis in his other
mode. His reflective, singer songwriter mode where there isn't
even a hint of a guitar solo until track five. It's not as though
he hasn't dialed it back and gone predominantly acoustic in
the past, but this is the guy who practically invented the word
"earsplitting." And then here he is with strings and what I
believe is a flute on "Make it Right." The funny thing is, this
quieter, gentler persona fits him too. Where he usually sounds
forlorn and rockin', here he just sort of sounds forlorn. How
could he not with his craggy voice and pleading lyrics? Even
the little cartoon dude on the album cover looks lonely. I swear
on several songs here that he's about to cover "Here Comes the
Sun," but that would just be silly. Instead he sings in his
almost country-ish slack way over mostly picked guitars with
melodies that will certainly sound familiar to anyone who has
even a couple Dinosaur Jr. albums.
He's at his best when dueting with other artists, as he does
on a couple tracks, as his crackle plays well with the interplay
of higher, smoother voices (like those of Ben Bridwell from
Band of Horses and Kevin Drew
from Broken Social Scene)
and forms this great sense of fullness. I would have liked to
have seen a little more variance between the songs, as acoustic
guitar music tends to blend together a little bit, but overall
it's a win for the aging indie guitar god. |
Musical Connections:
Dinosaur Jr.
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