Home CD Reviews Bob Mould
Wednesday, February 20,2008
Share
Bob Mould
District Line (Granary Music/Anti-)
Even when Bob Mould
was a young punk fronting Hüsker Dü during the 1980s, he grasped that
mature intelligence and loud electric guitars could forge a
near-seamless partnership. Like Pete Townshend and Richard Thompson—his
closest artistic forefathers—he hasn’t turned away from the knowledge,
welcome and unwelcome, that age can bring.
On District Line, the unwelcome knowledge is that growing older is no guarantee, where the heart is concerned, of growing wiser. The welcome knowledge is that Mould can still crank pain through amplifiers and catalyze it into something that can feel like catharsis.
That’s where the loud electric guitars come in, of course. Mould opens District Line with “Stupid Now,” which simmers in the verses and catches fire in the choruses, with his nasal voice sounding angrily resigned, if not outright defeated, from its very first exhalation.
Catharsis, however, comes in many forms, and Mould has explored quite a few of them in his solo career. If that’s resulted in uneven efforts—such as 1998’s The Last Dog and Pony Show, announced at the time as his last “rock” record, or 2002’s Modulate, an assimilation of ultramodern technology and instrumentation—many of his previous, restive explorations find fuller expression on District Line. “Shelter Me,” for example, frames Mould in an accomplished dance-floor box of computerized beats and beeps, while “Old Highs, New Lows” lays his recent interest in the vocoder inside a reflectively glistening ballad, and “Return to Dust” blends bitterly swirling rock with lucid acoustic-guitar passages that regather his energies.
For all its variety, District Line is a remarkably consistent album because of how regularly each song hits its mark. Even when Mould revisits an earlier era and closes with the ruminative “Walls in Time”—a song he wrote for, but did not include on, 1989’s Workbook—he connects it securely to the rest of the disc. He also connects the 47-year-old Bob Mould to the young punk and discovers that they have a lot to tell each other.
On District Line, the unwelcome knowledge is that growing older is no guarantee, where the heart is concerned, of growing wiser. The welcome knowledge is that Mould can still crank pain through amplifiers and catalyze it into something that can feel like catharsis.
That’s where the loud electric guitars come in, of course. Mould opens District Line with “Stupid Now,” which simmers in the verses and catches fire in the choruses, with his nasal voice sounding angrily resigned, if not outright defeated, from its very first exhalation.
Catharsis, however, comes in many forms, and Mould has explored quite a few of them in his solo career. If that’s resulted in uneven efforts—such as 1998’s The Last Dog and Pony Show, announced at the time as his last “rock” record, or 2002’s Modulate, an assimilation of ultramodern technology and instrumentation—many of his previous, restive explorations find fuller expression on District Line. “Shelter Me,” for example, frames Mould in an accomplished dance-floor box of computerized beats and beeps, while “Old Highs, New Lows” lays his recent interest in the vocoder inside a reflectively glistening ballad, and “Return to Dust” blends bitterly swirling rock with lucid acoustic-guitar passages that regather his energies.
For all its variety, District Line is a remarkably consistent album because of how regularly each song hits its mark. Even when Mould revisits an earlier era and closes with the ruminative “Walls in Time”—a song he wrote for, but did not include on, 1989’s Workbook—he connects it securely to the rest of the disc. He also connects the 47-year-old Bob Mould to the young punk and discovers that they have a lot to tell each other.
Also in CD Reviews:
..Search Shepherd Express
- Tue
2 - Wed
3 - Thu
4 - Fri
5 - Sat
6 - Sun
7 - Mon
8
Search in Events
2008-12-02 7pm
Film
Fall 2008 Human Trafficking Awareness Week
Become Aware and Take Action
Come Join Trafficking Ends with Action for Fall 2008 Human Trafficking Awareness Week. Monday Dec. 1st "Trafficking in South East Asia." Tuesday Dec. 2nd "Human Trafficking: Two Sides of the Same Coin." Thursday Dec. 4th "Gina Allende Speaks on Human Trafficking in Wisconsin." All events will be held in the UWM Fireside Lounge starting at 7pm an
Location: Central Milwaukee
Although separated by an ocean and multiple time zones, the Australian Outback bears remarkable resemblance to the American West. Both encompass mesas towering over rocky, dusty deserts shimmering like a mirage under unforgiving sunlight. Whip-snapping co
It can't touch Harry Potter for scope of popularity but in some pockets of pop culture, the Twilight series has reached Beatlemania in intensity. The "young adult" novels about a handsome teenage vampire boy and the mortal girl who loves him have sold 17
No, we didn't ask for an album featuring another recording of "Breathe," leading into "Time," leading into "Breathe (Reprise)," as happens on tracks two through four on Live in Gdansk. But Pink Floyd completists (we are legion) will want it anyway. Howeve
Jorge "El Guero" Hernandez may be the best-known regional Mexican artist with Milwaukee roots. Most of a decade has passed since he and brother Rogelio moved to San Antonio, but El Guero's Banda Centenario still nurtures a unique take on the often-manic D
The last decade has not been kind to Milwaukee’s German restaurants, as names like Ritter’s Inn, the Bavarian Wurst Haus and even the venerable John Ernst have all closed their doors. In fact, only two of the old-timers remain: the oldest, Mad
If you’re not from Waukesha, you’ll want to check MapQuest for directions, but it’s worth the ride. The Rochester Deli (143 E. Broadway, 262-522-9611), wedged within the labyrinth of downtown Waukesha across from the Freeman offices, is
Free Classifieds
Free Coupons
See Jim Gaffigan FREE
..Search Shepherd Express
