Music Review

09 January 2009 23:32 BST

Bob Mould: District Line

Beggars Banquet, out 11th February 2008.

In a nutshell…

US indie grows old gracefully.

What's it all about?

District Line is the follow-up to 2005's Body of Song, a record that saw Bob Mould return to his traditional indie roots after some time out in something of an electronica-inspired relative hinterland. It does much the same as that record, boasting ten tracks of very emotional, very American indie, with just a sprinkling of synths.

The songs mix Mould's consistently strong vocals with guitars that build to comforting walls of sound in the choruses. Even without paying attention to the lyrics, Mould's voice still has that evocative and emotional force that wrenches you about in the way its emo descendants can only dream of doing.

Listening to the words reinforces the effect, the usual themes of relationships, turmoil and upset met with the sense of acceptance only age can bring.

Who's it by?

Together with co-songwriter and drummer Grant Hart and bassist Greg Norton, Bob Mould was a leading light in the 1980s US punk scene with Husker Du, whose influence on bands from the Pixies and Nirvana to their countless 90s and 00s disciples is immeasurable. Following a spat with Grant, Mould formed another three-piece, Sugar, covering similar ground with perhaps a touch more accessibility.

District Line sees Mould team up with Brendan Canty, drummer in Fugazi, one of the most wilfully independent bands in the US.

As an example…

"Growing old, it's hard to be the angry young man/Turn away/Turn and walk away." - Return To Dust

Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys

Fans of Sugar and Husker Du that have forgotten about Mould would do well to give this a listen, as will the critics, but unless Spin magazine takes over the panel, the Grammys aren't getting near this.

What the others say

"District Line generally finds him back in rock mode, and at least one song, the fraught stomp of Again and Again, is his best in years. Elsewhere, though, the blend of earnest college rock and corny electronic trickery is awkward/" - John Mulvey, Times

"Whether you're a fan of his blasting guitars, his exquisite ballads or his forays into electronica, District Line has all of it in scores, wrapped up in an album that, despite its diverse sounds, comes together in a superb feeling of connectedness." - Ryan Cooper, About.com

So is it any good?

With Mould's recent work entirely off my radar, I wasn't sure what to expect at all from District Line. Turns out, it's a fine American rock record, with just enough of a nod to more recent sounds to keep things from getting boring.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the strongest tracks are those that invoke the spirit of his earlier epoch-defining bands. Opener Stupid Now would happily squeeze onto Sugar's fantastic Copper Blue and not look out of place. Lead single The Silence Between Us and Again and Again do the melody/noise/punk thing that Mould pretty much invented and do it as well as ever.

I think the influence of electronica is somewhat overstated - we're not talking Kid A here, let alone dubnobasswithmyheadman. Despite that, Shelter Me, and to a lesser extent Miniature Parade, keep things stuck, if not firmly in the 21st century, then certainly aware of some of the musical changes leading up to it.

On the odd occasion, the desire to show his eclecticism arguably gets the better of Mould - there isn't any real need for the vocoder-ing that twists and turns his voice on a few tracks - but it doesn't detract from the honest emotion here.

8/10

Mayer Nissim