Utter Music review of More Light

[Cloud9]

J Mascis and The Fog – More Light
Related Artists: Pixies, Guided By Voices, My Bloody Valentine
To Be Listened To: Driving like it was 1990 or partying like it was on sale for $19.99

Returning to the musical fray after a three year hiatus, J Mascis is back and in top form. More Light is more in the style of Dinosaur Jr. than 1996’s live acoustic solo outing Martin and Me. It’s also the best thing Mascis has done since Where You Been.

More Light also features My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Sheilds (who produced, and added some guitars and vocals), and Guided by Voices’ Bob Pollard (who provides vocals on three tracks). This album contains all the elements that made Dinosaur Jr. distinct: Mascis’ unique nasal ‘singing’ (including falsetto on ‘Can’t I Take This On’) frantic guitar playing, over the top guitar solos (‘Sameday’, ‘Where’d You Go’, and ‘Ammaring’) and an equal mix of melody and noise.

Dinosaur Jr. were one of the bands that paved the way for Nirvana and the grunge wave in the early nineties. The only shortcoming of More Light (depending on your perspective) is that it is now 2001, and not much has changed for Mr. Mascis, sonically or otherwise. For fans of Dinosaur Jr., this is certainly a good thing. When you have a good batch of songs, why tinker with a winning formula? Although always on the outskirts of fame and popularity, J Mascis will be fighting to keep himself relevant in the years to come.

By: D. Burga

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