Review from theStranger.com

[Bucky Ramone]

from theStranger.com:

J MASCIS + THE FOG

Free So Free

(Ultimatum)

****Though he invariably sounds mopey and somewhat soggy, J Mascis remains a romantic whose heart is jaded only around the edges. Album after album, his songs are packed with slacker jubilance, and though some people can’t stand the sound of his whine, I find it to be one of the happiest voices ever recorded. His post-Dinosaur Jr. project J Mascis + the Fog made an excellent debut in 2000 with More Light, an instantly lovable disc that spotlighted an adolescent spirit refusing to break (though it may concede that the body holding it has grown older). Free So Free is less instantaneous in its ability to inspire devotion, but its theme of freedom, both personal and political, hits an endearing hangdog stride by the second track, "If That’s How It’s Gotta Be"–and from then on it’s sometimes barreling ("Everybody Lets Me Down") and often beautiful ("Someone Said"). Then again, Mascis could sing anything and I’d love it to bits, so long as he cranks the shredding guitar up to 11. KATHLEEN WILSON

J Mascis plays Thurs Oct 24 at the Tractor.

[FlyingCloud]

hey thanks!
This one (aversion.com) is not that nice…

****Even if you don’t recognize J. Mascis’ name after about seven seconds of Free So Free, you’ll be certain to peg him as the front man of alt-rock icons Dinosaur Jr., or at least "that dude who sang that ‘I feel the pain of everyone, now I feel nothing" from the early ’90s. In fact, even if you don’t want to compare J. Mascis and the Fog’s latest with the singer/guitarist’s previous band, you’re destined to do so – frankly, it’s just that similar.

Is that a good or bad thing for the J.? For most of his fans, it’s probably a good thing. After all, Dinosaur Jr.’s been petrifying for five years now. Anyone who’s that attached to the underground heroes probably isn’t looking for anything more than a musical security blanket. In that respect, Mascis succeeds. Along with The Fog, his third full-length is an assurance that Mascis isn’t going to fall down on the job. It’s also an assurance that he’s probably not destined to rise above his existing musical legacy. From Mascis’ weird, whining delivery and that loud-but-not-roaring guitar tone of Dino Jr. to the powerful, but still slackin’ (remember that term?) arrangements, Free So Free is everything you’d expect from Mascis.

Those heavy riffs aren’t too bad, however, stagnant. Whether he kicks out mid-paced alt-rockers that could serve to remind every budding metalhead just how powerful alt-rock was before it was corrupted by whiners, wannabes and millions of dollars ("Free So Free") or unleashes some guitar textures that were long thought extinct ("Freedom"), Mascis still knows how to rock a bad hairdo and worse clothes. Sure Free So Free doesn’t stand up to either Dinosaur Jr. or previous Mascis solo efforts, but, then again, it’s a cut better than the pretentious art-rock passed off as indie rock, the irritating whine of commercial pop punk and the mouth-breather ruckus of rap metal. Is that an endorsement?

It depends upon how far into mediocrity you’ve sunk. Mascis hasn’t reached bottom, though without a few new ideas, he’s bound to bottom out soon. Catch him on the way down before it’s unbearable.

[AGAP]

Thanks for those <img> Definitely agree about the aversion.com one being… <img> Although it seems the person who wrote that one doesn’t like much of anything <img>

Allison <img>

[FlyingCloud]

I’ve been browing the web a bit and I found, that many of those sites who mention J’s new album, are linking to that aversion site now… <img>
+++
I just liked the headline of the following artcle, can’t read the rest: <img>

Dinosaur senior
J Mascis ima novi album Clan bivÅ¡ih Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis napravio je svoj drugi post-Dinosaur album `Free So Free` kojeg ce objaviti 8. listopada. Novi je uradak konceptualni album pun gitarskih solo dionica i cistih melodija, a snimio ga je uz pomoc The Fog,. Evo popisa pjesama: ` Freedom`, `If That`s How It`s Going To Be`, `Set Us Free`, `Bobbin`, `Free So Free`, `Tell The Truth`, `Someone Said`, `Everybody Lets Me Down`, `Say The Word` i `Outside`. Iscrpnije…

<small>[ 10-27-2002, 02:44 PM: Message edited by: Flying Cloud ]</small>

[fata morgana]

Who the hell wrote that article? (aversion.com) I guess this person thinks that he/she is entitled to he/she’s indie license? Personally, I may agree with some of what this person wrote, but, it’s a long road and for a musician and/or songwriter, this disc purports to yet another chapter in life–one which cannot be erased or thrown away. This is not the job of the reviewer, it is supposed to be a critique of the disc, not of the artist.

[Author]

Posts