Occasional Albums Thing 033 - Bob Mould “Distortion: The Best Of 1989 - 2019”

I was never really a big an of Hüsker Dü, their early records were much to harsh for me but there was a period in the later 80’s around the albums “Candy Apple Grey” and “Warehouse: Songs And Stories”, alongside singles like “Makes No Sense At All” and “Sorry Somehow” when my ears got more attuned to them. For the uninitiated Bob Mould was the guitarist/singer/songwriter in Hüsker Dü. When the Dü split in early 1988 (the usual tale of drink, drugs and musical differences) Mould went solo. I bought this album a) because I have a more than passing affinity with the 1st album he made with Sugar and b) because at less than £12 for a double LP on clear vinyl (you know about my weakness for LP’s that aren’t black, right ?) I simply couldn’t resist.

Following Hüsker Dü’s demise, Bob Mould released two solo albums. First was 1989’s critically acclaimed and much more acoustic than usual “Workbook”. This is often reviewed including the word “folk”, as in this is Bob Mould's folk album or the album has a folky feel to it. On the evidence of the 2 tracks here that open this comp (“Wishing Well” and “See A Little Light “) it’s just lazy journal-eese for it being folk inasmuch as acoustic guitars are used quite a lot. These are Bob Mould songs with, in parts, predominantly acoustic rather than growling punk rock electric guitars, there is certainly no evidence of a "hey-nonny-nay”, or Arran jumpers (beards I can’t say as Bob does sport one on the cover).

“Workbook” was followed by “Black Sheets Of Rain” in 1990. That albums title rack is included here. It’s much heavier than the songs from “Workbook”, something that developed out of touring with bassist Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu) and drummer Anton Fier (Pere Ubu, Swans, Golden Palominos) according to Mould. The more they played together the heavier they got. The song is based around a big, dirty, sludgy riff and I don’t exactly know what it’s about but given the title, the sound and lyrics like…

It's the black sheets of rain, Following me again
Everywhere I go, Everywhere I've been
Following me again

…I can only surmise it concerns depression. It grinds on for almost 8 minutes, although it doesn’t feel like that at all, and leaves you feeling for the singer by songs end.

In 1992 Mould formed a new band, Sugar, with bassist David Barbe and former Zulus drummer Malcolm Travis (https://www.whiterabbitrecords.co.uk/blog/read_206680/20234-albums-thing-439-the-zulus-down-on-the-floor.html). Wonder Stuff drummer Martin Gilks played Sugar’s debut album, “Copper Blue”, constantly during ‘92 and ‘93 and it stuck with me. I’ve never owned it but whenever I hear any part of it, it zaps me back to a time and place. Three of “Copper Blue”s tracks are included here, “A Good Idea”, “Hoover Dam” and the stupidly catchy “If I Cant Change Your Mind”.

The verse melody for Sugar’s “Your Favourite Thing”, from their second album “File Under: Easy Listening”, which I have to admit I didn’t recognise as a title but as soon as I heard it felt like I was meeting an old friend again after a few years, bears more than a passing resemblance to The Cure’s “Friday, I’m In Love” (The Cure preceded by 2 years if you were wondering). I’ll take Bob’s tilt at it over The Cure every time.

There are things on here that really don’t do it for me. “180 Rain” from 2002 album “Modulate” and Loudbomb’s “I Cannot Reverse You” dispense with guitars entirely in favour of some kinda half-arsed housey/dancey sequenced backing track which if I were listening on CD/MP3 would have me reaching for the skip button mere seconds in. But in the main Bob sticks to a style that he’s comfortable within, a growling, punky attitude but alongside that he writes a good tune. I like his voice too, instantly recognisable which is more than you can say for some these days.

Bob Mould has been quite prolific since 1989, producing 14 solo albums, 2 with Sugar (plus a 6 track EP/mini-album), 1 as Loudbomb and 1 with Blowoff…that’s 19 records in 36 years, not a bad hit-rate when you consider how long it takes some artists to follow up an album. I like what he does but I feel that this comp tells me I don’t need to dig any deeper than “Copper Blue” and this. He released a new album in March this year and I wish him nothing but luck and continued success.

Sugar “Your Favourite Thing” - https://youtu.be/jcjFkNtFHA8?si=1GVR_USuQyb1nBFa