J MASCIS + THE FOG More Light (City Slang)
On paper this looks like an alt-dream team: on his first album since the dissolution of Dinosaur Jr proto-slacker J Mascis collaborates with Kevin Shields (once of My Bloody Valentine, now sort of in Primal Scream) and Bob Pollard, chief architect of Guided By Voices. And whilst it certainly presents Mascis at his most awake since Dinosaur Jr's last great album, 1993's "Where You Been", "More Light" doesn't really deliver on its illustrious promise. Featuring eleven double-negative slacker anthems called stuff like "Waistin", "I'm Not Fine" and "Can't I Take This On", it's a pleasant, undemanding listen that steers some way clear of the mountains of noise the main protagonist has merrily tobogganed down in the past. Potentially great, eventually just, well, there, to be honest.