The follow-up to Body of Song, Bob Mould’s 2005 return to guitar rock after 2002’s experiment in synthesizers not surprisingly alienated fans he had acquired through Hüsker Dü, Sugar and earlier solo efforts, is an insular affair.
Label: ANTI-
[Rating: 2 STARS]
Videos by American Songwriter
The follow-up to Body of Song, Bob Mould’s 2005 return to guitar rock after 2002’s experiment in synthesizers not surprisingly alienated fans he had acquired through Hüsker Dü, Sugar and earlier solo efforts, is an insular affair. Mould plays all the instruments except for drums and intermittent cello, produced and mixed the album, obviously putting a lot of sweat into the project. Unfortunately, he forgot to write songs with melodic hooks, leaving his plentiful, predominantly downbeat and introspective lyrics shoved and shouted into tunes that aren’t strong enough to withstand the assault. The sound is dense, compressed and often chilly. Layers of electric and acoustic guitars and synthesizers wrestle each other, yielding an exhausting listening experience that seems longer than its 42 minutes.
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