J Mascis

J Mascis – What Do We Do Now (2024) [24Bit-96kHz] FLAC [PMEDIA] ⭐️
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 00:44:39 minutes | 996 MB | Genre: Pop, Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover

(more…)

J Mascis – What Do We Do Now (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:39 minutes | 997 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sub Pop Records

Best known as the leader of Dinosaur Jr., a trio addicted to monstrous levels of volume, J Mascis has another side to his musical character. Inside this apostle of ear-shredding noise lurks a sensitive indie rock balladeer, whose creaky, minor key voice—often compared to Neil Young—is the perfect accent to his opaque songs of loss and doubt.

(more…)

J Mascis – Several Shades of Why (2011/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 41:18 minutes | 450 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sub Pop Records

Despite being best known for the skull-crushing volume of his work with Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis has dabbled in acoustic music in the past, most notably on his 1996 album Martin + Me (Martin being his acoustic guitar). But Several Shades of Why is easily his most accomplished and best-crafted acoustic album to date, as well as one of his most tightly focused collections in years. Several Shades of Why’s ten songs are rooted in Mascis’ acoustic guitar picking, and rather than simply stripping his amp-blasting tunes down to a quieter arrangement, most of these songs appear to have been written with an acoustic in mind, and his elemental but lively melodic figures are surprisingly nimble and shine in this more subtle and dynamic setting. Mascis has also brought in a handful of gifted acquaintances to join him on these sessions, including Kurt Vile on guitar, Sophie Trudeau on violin, and Pall Jenkins on keyboards, and while the musicians have left the right amount of space in the songs, there’s just enough detail in these performances to give them an impressive depth and texture that serves them well. Mascis has never been known as an especially lucid lyricist, and this album hardly challenges that assumption, but the tenor of this album speaks to a more sincere and mature emotional core than much of the writer’s previous work, and as mushy as his vocals traditionally are, here he doesn’t reach for effect, but simply speaks to his heart and mind. Several Shades of Why isn’t an album that sounds grandiose, but it’s a strong and thoughtful work that features plenty of fine songs performed by a gifted guitarist with an equally capable ensemble by his side. If it isn’t quite a masterpiece, along with Dinosaur Jr.’s surprisingly strong reunion albums, this suggests Mascis has been quietly enjoying an impressive career renaissance, as if the venerable slacker has discovered something welcome in the onset of maturity. ~ Mark Deming
(more…)

J Mascis – Elastic Days (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:32 minutes | 966 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sub Pop Records

When he’s not in command of his band Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis enjoys working on his solo albums. With Elastic Days, the man whose influence is inversely proportional to his charisma hasn’t changed his game one bit. He still has that gift for killer melodies, the nonchalance of Neil Young, the weightless guitars, and these endearing and slightly nostalgic chord progressions that contributed to the success of Dinosaur Jr., one of the most respected bands of the American indie scene in the 90s. On the guitar however, J settles down a bit when playing under his own name, favouring melancholic ballads to his trademark six-string tsunamis with Dinosaur Jr..Recorded in Bisquiteen studio, this third solo album focuses on electric and nostalgic promenades and touching narrations. Nothing that new for our fifty something year-old with his droopy expression. But his distinctive style, recognizable in less than two chords, remains as blissful as ever!  – Marc Zisman
(more…)