(Remote Control/Inertia)

Indie rock legend turns up the heat again

At first glance, Bob Mould – the man who gave us two of rock’s key bands in Husker Du and Sugar – has finally curbed his bent for electronics on this seventh solo album and returned to a more emphatic, guitar-led alt-rock. And to a large degree, that’s true – except that now programming is an integral part of Mould’s palette and, aside from more subtle digital splashes in tracks like Old Highs New Lows, it emerges full-on in Shelter Me, complete with vocoder vocals and looped effects. But even here, it makes more sense than it did two albums ago. More to the point though are the surging guitar melodies that drive this set. With only Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty and cellist Amy Domingues joining him, Mould makes it clear in the dramatic soft-loud pull of tracks such as Stupid Now where people like Dave Grohl got their inspiration. And, as if to make that connection himself, he closes this album with Walls In Time, intended for his first post-Husker Du album, 1989’s Workbook, but only now being aired. Combined with his earnest delivery and sense of introspection, it all adds up to his most effective, and affecting, effort in some time. 

***½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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