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.
