free so free review from 2 walls webzine – march 2004

[rambleon]

J. Mascis & The Fog
Free So Free (2002)

Review by: Matthew Scrivner
Date: 3/14/04

This album proves that the dying embers of a genre bonfire can still burn brightly if stoked. Which implies that this is genre rock, and maybe that’s a bit unfair.

To clarify, for those unfamiliar with J. Mascis, he was a founding member of the band Dinosaur Jr., a band that, arguably, achieved it’s apex during the era of grunge – though arguably the loose, fast, resonant sounds of that band owed more to Emo and Punk than the hair metal that inspired the grunge genre. Truthfully back in those flannel-clad glory days, I myself was never really a Dinosaur Jr. fan; and I am positive there is some die-hard fan out there that will scream at me for calling their beloved band something it isn’t. How else to categorize it?

For the purposes of this review, it doesn’t matter.

What I will say is that Free So Free captures a rich, layered, emotionally powerful rock sound that has all the integrity of the music of the early nineties. This makes it distinct from the bubble-gum nü-rock and schoolyard punk that is currently considered “alternativeâ€

[FlyingCloud]

cool find, rambleon
…written by someone who just found out about Free so Free, and liked it so much to write a review, although the record is out for some time now 🙂

For he doesn’t own any of Mascis’ prvious work, his idea about the Dino sound fits quite precisely, I think. and I’d surely recommend him to take some closer look on the one or other Dino/J record

[rambleon]

"Flying Cloud" wrote:

and I’d surely recommend him to take some closer look on the one or other Dino/J record

me too

[ammaringnyc]

Did he have a different version than us because I haven’t seen a song called stand alone.

[FlyingCloud]

I think he meant outside

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