After a quarter of a century career heading bands such as Dinosaur jr., Witch, Deep Wound, and more, Jay Mascis has turned to producing solo content. Most recently the artist released Tied to a Star on Sub-pop records in late August. Mascis joined up with Paul Jenkins of Black Heart Procession, Ken Maiuri, and Mark Mulcahy.
In 2011, Mascis released a largely acoustic album titled Several Shades of Why. The album was the first in Mascis’ solo work, and featured a long list of popular names including Kurt Vile, Sophie Trudeau, Kurt Fedora (long-time collusionist), Kevin Drew, and Ben Bridwell.
Both works differ from Mascis’ iconic electric-punk devotion, and instead show the artist discovering the guitar in a fresh way. Putting down the jazzmaster in favor of the Martin in these most recent solo explorations, the artist’s voice and lyrics sit at the forefront in contrast to the wall of sound typically associated with indie-punk’s beloved Dinosaur Jr.
