Several Shades of Why I Can Get Into an Acoustic Record by J. Mascis

The indie rock guitar god J Mascis is pretty good unplugged, too.

When I saw the Dinosaur Jr. reunion show a couple years ago -- this was just before the band released the second record with the reunited lineup,  2010's Farm --  frontman J. Mascis had half the tiny Lancaster stage  filled with four towering full Marshall stacks.

Even more remarkable than the site of half a (albeit small club) sound stage filled with that much firepower was the fact that all four amps were not aimed out at the crowd. they wrapped around the right side of the stage so that will were pointing directly at Mascis.

You see, for anyone unfamiliar with Dinosaur Jr., J. Mascis has consistently set the bar for volume. On the band's early records the level was set so high, that the guitar sound just absolutely bleeds. That's how Mascis wanted it to sound. And this was in the late '80s. If Kurt Cobain was the "father" of what would be called grunge, Masics is the form's grandfather. It was Mascis, really, who first nailed a formula that merged sloppy shoe-gaze with '60s psychedelia and loud-as-hell guitars.

Given Masics' dedication to volume -- this is the guy that called an anthology of Dinosaur Jr. songs "Ear Bleeding Country" -- it's hard to imagine him pulling off an acoustic record. His last efforts here, the 1996 solo album called Martin+Me and the Live Acoustic at CBGB's were OK, but  had the feel of MTV Unplugged sessions, they were sets of covers and old Dino songs stripped of their glorious feedback drenched original sound. I braced myself and gave Masics' new acoustic record Several Shades of Why a spin, hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

Generally I'd rather have my teeth drilled without anesthesia than listen to some warbler sing sad songs over acoustic guitar. There are, of course, notable exceptions: Townes Van Zandt, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Doc Watson and even Willie Nelson come immediately to mind.  But there are so many new acoustic bands right now, so many bearded lumberjack impersonators, that Mascis heading into the fray could smack of just going commercial.

Several Shades was even released by Sub Pop Records. Yup, the label that pioneered grunge as a marketing miracle with Mudhoney and Nirvana is now one of the biggest homes of folk revivalists. Listen to these guys and the only thing bands like Fleet Foxes have in common with their label's original artists is a preference for plaid flannel.

Mascis doesn't go there, exactly. There's nothing novel here. The 10 songs of Several Shades are typical Mascis fare. You could imagine taking the acoustic and handing him one of his trademark purple Jazzmaster guitars, flipping the switch on the Marshall and -- boom! -- instant, vintage Dino. That's not a bad thing. Mascis continues to sound like, well, himself, and for that you can't fault him. He does what he does and does it well.

There are a few standouts here, ones around which the acoustic idea probably stemmed. The title song has a really nice fingerpicked section and a spare string accompaniment. "Not Enough," with backups by Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell is nice.

And that's what this record is. Nice. It's good for the rare mood when you don't want something a little quieter. It doesn't have the oomph of other Mascis material, but it's a nice detour. 

As long as Mascis has another album in him for Murph and Lou, there's nothing at all wrong with Several Shades of Why.