Depending on what you believe, Heavy Blanket was either a new project launched by Dinosaur Jr. guitarist J Mascis in 2012, or a band from his teenage years that, thanks to a byzantine series of misadventures, were unable to record their first album until a quarter-century after they began writing material. According to Heavy Blanket's official biography, the band formed in 1984. Plans to record fell through, but Mascis re-formed the band for the sake of recording their old songs. The style of the bass and drum work on their self-titled album resembled that of Mascis' occasional efforts as his own rhythm section on several Dinosaur Jr. recordings, as well as his drumming with Sweet Apple, Witch, and Upsidedown Cross. ~ Mark Deming