So what are we left with when the wall of amps and blaring Jazzmaster make way for little more than an acoustic guitar? The question was answered a little unconvincingly with Mascis’s 1996 solo debut Martin + Me, a solo reworking of Dinosaur Jr tracks with a few covers thrown in for good measure. But Several Shades Of Why could rightfully bear the distinction as his first canonical solo record – a collection of fully-realised original tracks.
While Mascis and his acoustic take front and centre in the entirety of the mix, there are a select number of guests subtly underlying throughout. Most notably, contemporary troubadour Kurt Vile lends guitar and vox, forming a tidy generational bridge in the process.
Though trading his characteristic quiet-loud dynamic for something a little more quiet-quiet, And as Mascis wails out a killer solo on Is It Done, it’s as if he couldn’t help himself. It’s one of the rare moments in which a distortion pedal is put to use, though it still remains quaintly understated.
The lyrical content of Several Shades Of Why remains close to the introspective melancholy exhibited in Mascis’s full-time band’s back catalogue. “I can’t speak my mind, I can’t even speak,” he strains to expel on the contemplative Very Nervous And Love, as if confounded by the cathartic expectations that come along with a solo outing.
The successful reboot which began with Beyond and continued with Farm diverges down a delightful little sidetrack. Several Shades offers a solid display of an alternative side to one of alternative rock’s most seminal figures.
