At this point, J. Mascis should need no introduction as a performer or songwriter. Since first appearing as the guitarist, main singer and half of the songwriting talent in Dinosaur Jr. in 1985, Mascis has deservedly drawn attention for his work which often melds classic rock 'guitar god' heroics with more indie-identified and melodic but propulsive changes. That style has made Mascis a star and he has been revered for it, but he has also gone on to win respect with both Witch and Sweet Apple as a drummer; thereby further illustrating his versatility as a performer.
By the same token though (obvious differences between indie rock and stoner rock aside), one has to wonder how great the creative leap between the sounds and styles of Dinosaur and Sweet Apple has been for J. Mascis. The fall-back thread that has always held up between Dinosaur Jr. and any/all of the other groups to which Mascis' name has been attached has been volume. From indie rock to metal to stoner rock, Mascis has always been able to rely on pure, raw volume if all else fails as a hook but, on his debut solo album Several Shades Of Why, he has bravely challenged himself by turning down the volume. For each of the ten tracks that comprise Several Shades Of Why, Mascis trades his Fender Jazzmaster for an acoustic dreadnought and, because he did much of the recording and production on his own (the liner notes offer the short list of “other people on the record besides me,” and it doesn't take up a lot of space), the 'songwriter' in J. Mascis is forced fairly unadorned to the forefront to live, die or dry up in the limelight.
While the possibility of a low-decibel J. Mascis might seem like a dicey proposition to fans of his other projects, it turns out to be a perfect and magical change of pace on Several Shades Of Why. Even being told what to expect in advance, listeners will be completely knocked over by the simple, almost serene beauty of “Listen To Me” – the song that opens the record and sets many of the precedents for what listeners can expect through the rest of the album. In that song, Mascis appears alone with no instrumental backing other than an acoustic guitar; the singer's vocals are doubled, but he is presented so raw and intimately that you'd swear you can hear his tongue crossing his teeth when he sings/pleas, “Listen to me.” It would be hard to ignore such a poignant sentiment from any singer, but that it's coming from an iconic personality like J. Mascis' only further re-enforces the spell that “Listen To Me” casts so easily. Those listeners who are fans of his other bands will be in hook, line and sinker from this first moment.
From there, it's the little things that happen in Several Shades Of Why's run-time – like when Mascis' voice cracks or a pregnant pause between a verse and a chorus or a mournful violin part that appears briefly and then evaporates – that are the places where listeners will stop and take residence for a while before moving on to see what other wonderful treasures there are to find. In the title track, for example, it is that lonely, wistful violin offered up by Godspeed You Black Emperor's Sophie Trudeau which seems to add a whole other dimension to J. Mascis' character, and it is that sparkling, “very Seventies” gang vocal harmony set up between Mascis, Kurt Vile, Band Of Horses' Ben Bridwell and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew, and it is that seemingly half-lost and absent-minded lead guitar part in “Very Nervous In Love” or the surprisingly dense orchestration (a saw, at least four guitars, piano, flute) of “Make It Right” that somehow dissolves as soon as a listener tries to pin it down – these are the sorts of treats listeners will find as they make their way through this most out-of-character album for J. Mascis. These things all seem like they should be inconsequential to the overall impression a record can make, but the are the vibe and the humanity of it, and so tastefully included that they become the enriching qualities that listeners find themselves looking for each time a new track starts on this album. They are the things that make Several Shades Of Why a resounding success and the fact that the whole package represents a new and different angle taken for J. Mascis will make it that much more exciting for listeners; as “What Happened” fades out to close the record, listeners will find themselves hoping he goes it alone again soon.
Artist:
www.jmascis.com/
www.myspace.com/jmascis
www.facebook.com/JMascisOfficial
www.twitter.com/jmascis
Album:
Several Shades Of Why is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
