Without a Sound

iTunes Review

It’s arguable that Without a Sound is more of a solo venture by singer/guitarist J Mascis than a full-fledged Dinosaur Jr. album; the absence of Patrick “Murph” Murphy’s jazz-inflected drumming is felt here. On its own merits, though, Without a Sound does provide the sort of manic-depressive thrills that Dinosaur Jr. fans have come to savor. Few artists can strike a pose of anguished detatchment as skillfully as Mascis as he proves once again on the faux-festive “Yeah, Right” and the rueful “Feel the Pain.” His familiar Neil Young fixations and the affinity for tempo-shifting arrangements are present as well, though the mood here is often downbeat. “Grab It” and “I Don’t Think So” shake off the lethargy with some bracing energy surges (counterbalanced, as usual, by Mascis’ laid-back delivery). The yearning “Seemed Like the Thing to Do” offers an interlude of folksy contemplation. Without a Sound doesn’t match the sublime mania of Bug or Green Mind but there are enough oddball delights here to make it worth the listen.