Song of the Week: The Breeders Find Glory in the Vault with “Divine Mascis”

Paolo Ragusa
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The post Song of the Week: The Breeders Find Glory in the Vault with “Divine Mascis” appeared first on Consequence.

Song of the Week delves into the fresh songs we just can’t get out of our heads. Find these tracks and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist, and for our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, The Breeders unveil “Divine Mascis,” a long-lost version of their beloved single “Divine Hammer” with J Mascis on vocals.

Slackers, rejoice: Along with a fully remastered version of their seminal 1993 album Last Splash, The Breeders have dug back into the vault for an alternate version of their single “Divine Hammer” with Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis on vocals. Titled “Divine Mascis,” the track is less of a love letter to the original Breeders composition and more of a love letter to, well, J Mascis.

With newly refined instrumentation and an even heavier helping of guitar fuzz, Mascis provides his zany, laid-back spin on the track. According to The Breeders, the band originally sent a demo over to Mascis expecting him to add some typical Dinosaur Jr. guitar work over it — and instead, Mascis returned the demo scratching Kim and Kelley Deal’s vocals and adding his own vocal take to it. Discussing the new version with Uncut, Kelly Deal described it as “Really cute,” saying “There’s a freshness to it, and it’s just so weird.”

“Weird” is certainly an apt way to describe Mascis’ approach. His vocals aren’t so much sung as they are croaked, his raw baritone frequently reducing to a raspy vocal fry. He takes the track at a slightly slower tempo, amplifying the slacker rock feel and letting his wandering vocals pop in and out in an unpredictable way. Though he sings every word, Mascis’ quiet, understated delivery feels divorced from any ego, like it’s the version of the track he’d been humming to himself in the shower.

Meanwhile, each background “ahh” delivered by the Deal sisters serves as an anthemic reminder of the original, but on “Divine Mascis,” it’s the J Mascis show through and through. His idiosyncratic approach speaks to the heart of The Breeders’ success over the last 30 years — with each enjoyable rock song is a touch of the odd, and this added sense of personalization helps elevate the slightly raw, barebones instrumentation.

In particular, “Divine Hammer” is imbued with a kind of sweetness that J Mascis wears well; together, they add more sweet, more sour, and become weightless. It’s a blessing to hear two ’90s rock icons on the same song, and even better to imagine the alternate reality in which The Breeders and Dinosaur Jr. combined for more.

— Paolo Ragusa
Associate Editor

Note: You can catch The Breeders on tour for their Last Splash 30th anniversary shows, as well as opening for Olivia Rodrigo for several dates in 2024. Get tickets here.

Honorable Mentions

Squirrel Flower – “Intheskatepark”

Squirrel Flower proclaims her new single “Intheskatepark” is “best listened to while biking around in the sunshine,” and she has a point — even with such thick, fuzzy guitars beneath her, she channels the kind of light, euphoric energy that makes those late summer days so rich. “Late July, we’ve got plenty of time,” sings Ella Williams at the end of the second verse, both a reminder to herself to not give up hope on her crush while also serving as sad warning that her desires may go unmet altogether. But alas, sometimes to proclaim love is to willingly erase it — so it’s worth enjoying those lazy summer hangs while you can. — P. Ragusa

Gurriers – “Nausea”

Irish punks Gurriers have once again turned the volume dial to 11 and unveiled another scorcher, “Nausea.” The track certainly lives up to its namesake, offering a powerful-but-unsettling sound complete with guitar sirens and visceral shouts from vocalist Dan Hoff. There’s a quick bridge in the final third that provides a break from the live-wire exorcism they’re conducting, but as it is with nausea, relief can only last when it’s all out of your system. — P. Ragusa

HotWax – “Phone Machine”

British trio HotWax have returned with “Phone Machine,” a thumping, grungy single that demonstrates just how ambitious the young punks are. The spindling guitars and busy drum beat have a post-punk edge, but the guitar tone instantly evokes Nirvana, The Breeders, and newer grungy stalwarts like Wolf Alice and Nova Twins. Meanwhile, the track’s production — handled by prolific British rock connoisseur Alan Moulder — gives the song a hi-fi sheen that elevates HotWax’s furious jam into an arena-ready romp. — P. Ragusa

Jenny Owen Youngs – “Evergaldes”

Woodsy and breezy, Jenny Owen Youngs’ “Everglades” is the Friday afternoon soundtrack of our dreams. The sun-drenched folk tune is here alongside Youngs’ Avalanche, out in full today, September 22nd. Co-written with Christian Lee Hutson in Los Angeles, “Everglades” also acts as a strong introduction to Youngs’ nostalgic and authentic sound that runs consistently through the record, which she refers to as “ten years of reflections on growth, joy, loss, and love.” — M. Siroky

Balming Tiger – “Kamehameha”

No one else in the South Korean music world is doing what artist collective Balming Tiger is doing right now. This pleasantly oddball crew bounces between genres as they please, and their latest single, “Kamehameha,” shifts between explosive rock, off-kilter hip-hop, and traditional Korean instrumentals. The track arrives ahead of their forthcoming debut album (due out in October) and revolves around the bravado that comes with hitting a drunk peak, with a cinematic video that drives it all home. These guys are making up their own recipes in real time, and we say let them cook. — M. Siroky 

Dhani Harrison – “Damn That Frequency”

Musician and composer Dhani Harrison is back with the glitchy “Damn That Frequency,” and he’s brought in Graham Coxon of Blur (our recent cover stars) for the fun. There’s a push and pull to “Damn That Frequency,” which begins in an ultra-modern sonic space before layering in strings and horns for a grounding effect; Coxon is on saxophone. The song spans over five minutes, sparse on lyrics but heavy on musicality. — M. Siroky

salem ilese – “Ketchup”

There’s something tragically relatable about “Ketchup” — don’t we all have that one person in our lives who we always thought we’d know everything about, and suddenly is an absolute stranger? While it’s one of the shorter tracks on salem ilese’s debut album, High Concept, it makes room for her signature wordplay. The full project has arrived today, September 22nd. — M. Siroky

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Song of the Week: The Breeders Find Glory in the Vault with “Divine Mascis”
Paolo Ragusa

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