Several Shades of Why

Many know him as the frontman of the seminal alternative band Dinosaur Jr - whose tracks "Freak Scene" and "The Wagon' set the band at the forefront of the alternate rock revolution in the early 90s, alongside Nirvana and Sonic Youth. But in the past 25 years J Mascis has also been the driving force behind a string of bands - Deep Wound, Gobblehoof, Velvet Monkeys, the Fog, Witch, Sweet Apple - and he has guested on innumerable sessions.

'Several Shades of Why', his Sub Pop debut, is nearly all acoustic and was created with the help of Kurt Vile, Sophie Trudeau, Kurt Fedora, Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Paulo Zappoli (Black Heart Procession), Matt Valentine (The Golden Road), and Suzanne Thorpe (Wounded Knees). Together in small mutable groupings, they conjure up classic sounds ranging from English-tinged folk to drifty, West Coast-style. But every track bears that distinct Mascis watermark, both in the shape of the tunes and the glorious rasp of the vocals.