J MASCIS + THE FOG
Free So Free
(Ultimatum/Artemis)
Free So Free, the latest album by J Mascis, the man formerly known as Dinosaur Jr., is allegedly a concept album about skydiving. OK, sure, whatever. Whether you buy into the theme or not, however, you can’t deny that this record is one of Mascis’ strongest collections of songs. Mascis doesn’t do anything here you haven’t heard him do before—creaky vocals, melodies that split the difference between punk, pop and classic rock and overdriven guitar sounds abound. This is one guy who knows his strengths and sticks to them. But there’s more inherent tunefulness here than on any record he’s made since the landmark Dino Jr. album Where You Been. "Bobbin," "Tell the Truth" and "Freedom" have singalong choruses and big fat hooks; if not for Mascis’ trademark guitar sludge, they’d qualify as power pop. The mostly acoustic "Someone Said" and "If Thats How Its Gotta Be" waft gently by as a couple of Mascis’ prettiest ballads, while "Everybody Lets Me Down" is some of his purest pop (despite the skronky lead guitar). The title track rides a wistful melody, unusually soulful vocals and some of Mascis’ most lyrical ax wrangling, on both acoustic and electric, no less. Mascis will never be accused of progression, but as long as he does what he does as well as he does it on Free So Free, no one can begrudge him sticking with success. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: Built to Spill, Neil Young, Buffalo Tom

High Bias

I’d accuse him of progress