Mosquito

An outsider-rock supergroup starring Jad Fair (Half Japanese) on guitar and vocals, Tim Foljahn (Two-Dollar Guitar) on guitar, James McNew (Christmas, Yo La Tengo) guesting on bass and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums, Mosquito sounds more like a proper group than a lot of Fair's duet projects, which basically sound like Jad Fair  bashing away on top of songs by Teenage Fanclub, Yo La Tengo, R. Stevie Moore or whoever else he's collaborating with. These 20 brief songs are both more unique and slightly weirder than that; songs like "Automatic Vaudeville" mix low, grinding guitar riffs and Shelley's typically excellent drumming with muttered vocals that are far removed from Fair's familiar yelp. Others, like the brilliantly-titled "Don't See Twin Peaks The Movie," are low-key, moody instrumentals that are minimal but surprisingly straightforward. Experimental but entertaining, Time Was sounds less like Half Japanese than any other project Jad Fair has ever been involved with.

Stewart Mason/ AllMusic

originally released June 6, 1993