Several Shades of Why Sub Pop****

What’s all this acoustic guitar nonsense? Where are all the squalling, dribbling, electrified, quicksilver guitar solos that take seven minutes from start to finish? Why can’t we hear any drums? Where did all those violins, dobros and clarinets come from? Why is Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis singing in such a soft, raspy voice? And could someone please keep clear of the musical saw? Stepping away from thefire that made his name as one of the best alt.rock guitarists since alt.rock began, Mascis delivers his debut solo record, and it’s at least a departure we weren’t expecting. Assisted by friends from Band of Horses (Ben Bridwell), Broken Social Scene (Kevin Drew) Silver Mount Zion (Sophie Trudeau) and Paulo Zappoli (Black Heart Procession), Mascis channels various strands of British folk (Nick Drake) and US classic Americana (Crosby, Stills, Nash Young) to come up with 10 tunes of pure summer-daze pleasure.

Download tracks: Not Enough, What Happened