Bob Mould - Body of Song

Genre rock Publisher Yep Roc External Links Official Website Yep Rock Records

When Bob Mould announced he was planning on abandoning recording and performing with electric guitars and a full band shortly after the release of his ominously titled 1998 album The Last Dog and Pony Show, it was difficult not to empathize with the man. Although he was responsible for several of the best American rock albums of the last quarter century, including Husker Du's Zen Arcade, New Day Rising, and Warehouse: Songs and Stories, not to mention Sugar's great Copper Blue and Beaster EP, Mould has always been searching within himself, be it musically (1988's Workbook) or creatively (his brief stint as a writer for Ted Turner's WCW wrestling), and coupled with the fact that he suffered permanent hearing damage while fronting two of the loudest bands ever, it's easy to understand his desire to do something a bit different. Understand, yes, but enjoy, well, that's another story, as his 2002 disc Modulate challenged his longtime fans with its emphasis on electronic arrangements. One of the more restless geniuses in rock, Mould is the kind of artist who would vow to eschew rock music forever and actually do it, so imagine our collective surprise when he pulled out the electric guitars for one more go at the rock on his new album.

Actually, Body of Song is less a full-on rock record than people may think; instead, it's a rather bold amalgam of his hard-edged early work and his more adventurous solo efforts of recent years. For the first time since his Sugar days a decade ago, Mould has recorded with a full band, and a good one it is, anchored by the formidable rhythm section of former Sugar bassist David Barbe and the strong drumming of Fugazi's Brendan Canty. As one would expect from such a change, there's a bit more of a punch to Mould's compositions, yet at the same time, there's a lithe quality to the music, as more ambient tones and dance elements begin to creep in. Several tracks manage to neatly walk the line between rock and electronic: "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope," with Mould's vocodered vocals and Canty's house-inspired beats, the trancelike vocals on "I Am Vision, I Am Sound," and the atmospheric, languid "Always Tomorrow," highlighted by Barbe's mellifluous bassline, all work especially well, doing the dance-fueled guitar rock thing better than many bands half Mould's age.

That's not to say this album doesn't deliver the soaring, melodic rock gems that Mould has always excelled at. "Paralyzed" is Mould's best song in eleven years, returning to his tried-and-true formula, juxtaposing his trademark angst-ridden lyrical style ("You wouldn't let me near you/So I settled for the fear that you'd be happy with me six feet in the ground") with a fantastic, upbeat melody. Enhanced by a catchy little Moog synth melody, "Paralyzed" is a stellar return to form. "Underneath Days" is ferocious, as we get deeper into Mould's darker side, featuring passionate singing that reminds us of Sugar's great Beaster EP. Meanwhile, the cleaner-sounding, gently beautiful "Days of Rain" hearkens back to his Workbook-era from the late-1980s, "High Fidelity" is an effective, tender ballad, and "Missing You" will remind many fans of the buoyant pop of "If I Can Change Your Mind."

Body of Song is the kind of album Bob Mould's fans have been waiting ages for, but it falls short of perfect, as the morose "Gauze of Friendship" and the moody "Beating Heart of One" bring the album to a tepid conclusion. That said, for the most part, Mould gets it just right. The man has always been brilliant at writing perceptive, passionate songs, and for the first time in a long while, the backing music sounds just as fervent.