Bob Mould - Blue Hearts ⅘
‘Blue Hearts’ was devised by Bob Mould as a sister record to last year’s rather cheerful and rambunctious ‘Sunshine Rock’ this record however is both angry and bitter.
Mould has always made ferocious indie rock but with strong melodic content even when raging at the world like he does here. Opener ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ is a sorrowful acoustic number just to wrong foot you for when ‘Next Generation’ kicks down the door and barges into your earspace. It is very recognisably Mould, serrated edged guitars rasp away whilst the rhythm section race each other and it continues straight into the third track, ‘American Crisis’ there’s almost no room for breathing which is a perfect sonic analogy of the rage and distortion in modern America at this moment.
In fact there’s almost no let up throughout the album, even the acoustic driven ‘Forecast of Rain’ gallops at an incredible speed, in fact with the exception of the opening track and record closer ‘The Ocean’ this is the closest Mould has been to the breakneck pace of early Husker Du but ‘Blue Hearts’ has the strength of confidence that his old band didn’t have, not in these levels anyway.
Bob Mould is an American classic and ‘Blue Hearts’ is another solid slab of indie-rock from the Godfather of grunge, how he keeps the energy levels this high at this late stage of his career is astounding and quite frankly here’s hoping it keeps going
