Bob Mould Albums
Bob Mould is a lot of things- perhaps the best guitar player in rock n roll history, one of the best singer-songwriters to ever emerge from a punk hardcore group, and a man who really has a knack for writing catchy melodic hooks. Even when he was in Husker Du, Mould had a penchant for writing acoustic ballads alongside blistering rockers, and he carried that unto his solo records in the late 1980’s and into his other power trio variations along the way. Most notably, he formed the power pop band Sugar in 1992 and made several albums that have a write to be more famous than they are for sure. His quality did dip some after coming off an amazing 20 year streak from 1980 to about 1999, and the years from 2001-2009 saw him at his worst. All the better he formed a massive artistic comeback in the 2010’s and going forward, revitalizing his career with the excellent guitar rock of Silver Age (2012), Beauty and Ruin (2014), Patch the Sky (2016) and so forth.
Best Album:
Bob Mould (1996)
Biggest Influences:
The Who, Richard Thompson, The Clash, The Byrds, Pixies, Superchunk,
Pere Ubu, Golden Palominos
Albums Chronologically
1989 - 81% - Workbook
1990 - 88% - Black Sheets of Rain
1996 - 91% - Bob Mould (hubcap)
1998 - 62% - The Last Dog and Pony Show
2002 - 28% - Mouldulate
2005 - 45% - Body of Song
2008 - 33% - District Line
2009 - 68% - Life and Times
2012 - 85% - Silver Age
2014 - 89% - Beauty and Rain
2016 - 78% - Patch the Sky
2019 - 70% - Sunshine Rock
2020 - 64% - Blue Hearts
2025 - 79% - Here We Go Crazy
1989
Workbook - 81%
As the first album Bob Mould released after Husker Du disbanded, Workbook is something amazingly different. The sound is so removed than that of the Huskers, but not completely as there is still quite the air of ‘emotional wailing’ present. Opening track “Sunspots” is quite departure from him, an acoustic adventure more in line with something Peter Gabriel’s “Silbury Hill” or Richard Thompson’s guitar interplay (Mould’s most recent obsession, admittedly in interviews). But that track can be misleading, as different as the production by Mould himself is very sunny and psychedelic and every guitar truly shimmers, but Bob Mould is still….himself. The best songs on this album range from epics such as hyper emotional "Poison Years", ultra- catchy songs such as "See a Little Light"- in an alternate world a massive hit and did get him some placement on college radio, and traveling songs such as the foreboding "Sinners and Repentances". In this middle section of the album (also the most powerful) Mould seems to be channeling influences never before (you have the medieval style of Dead Can Sance with ultra use of cello, and of course the knowing power chords of Pete Towsend on the epic acoustic "Brasilia crossed with Trenton" which is his version of a sea-shanty.
Bob Mould is one of the greatest songwriters of rock and roll, mainly because he proves he has diversity. Mould's lyrics are as good as ever, very interesting and sad but also joyful at times. I am sure this album had an impact on musicians that listened to it, maybe not as big an impact as Husker Du but what do people expect, a perfect album? This album is far from that, as certain songs to stumble to make much of a musical difference “Heartbreak a Stranger” towards the beginning of the record is quite the halt, and “Compositions for the Young and Old” and “Lonely Afternoon” are sketch that are more like demo quality tunes. Luckily, “Dreaming I Am” has a driving verse with expert drumming by Anton Fier and bass playing by Tony Maimone (both from experimental rock band Pere Ubu) and is one of his more beautiful choruses and “Wishing Well” helps towards the beginning of the record and an example of his new found acoustic meets emotional songwriting songcraft.
Workbook will take you on a ride through the mind of one of the best songwriters ever, someone who truly is inventing himself as a singer-songwriter after the dissolution of his group Husker Du. Anyone is still not convinced that 90’s grunge got something from Mould, listen to "Whichever Way the Wind Blows" and tell me it does not sound exactly like so many of those groups. A raw and super insane ending to an already diverse collections of songs.
Best Songs: see a little light, sinners and their repentances, dreaming I am, poison years
1990
Black Sheets of Rain - 88%
Perhaps because he does not compromise at all, Mould’s second solo album is even more of a wild ride than his debut Workbook. Eclelctic band members form the get go (Anton Fier of Golden Palominos on Drums, Tony Maimone on bass) forming a sort of power trio. Nearly eight-minute opener and title track “Blank Sheets of Rain” is a massive undertaking, full of guitar solos and melodic verses, yearning that a seems to reach a deeper level of understanding. “Someone stop the sun from shining!” Mould howls, and the slow, dirge of Richard Thompson influence is ever more present. Right after, Mould proves his ability make a catchy rock riff, “Stand Guard” is a other emotion journey but this time the guitar is so amazing that any rube could bop along. “It’s Too Late” was his version of yet another radio hit in an alternative rock way, super reflective chorus and able to channel The Who’s classic rock in an amazing way.
The heart of the album, once again, is full of powerful songs- this time of the ‘break-up’ variety siting Mould had just existed a relationship with his boyfriend. “Out of Your Life” can really make some great emotional catharsis. The last chorus where Mould jumps to “can you tell MEEEEE” is powerful stuff; “Hanging Tree” is a bit more abstract with some GENIUS backwards drumming effects in the bridge; “The Last Night” is truly romantic and an ultimate break up anthem, and “Hear Me Calling” is some great off kilter rock in roll, more oblique but beautiful music. Mould is abler to harness the crazy tension of The Zombies in the 1960’s (“Time of the Season” era Zombies) and the arena quality of ‘big rock n roll’ like Aerosmith with the love of guitar solos, and of course what he helped create in the 1980s, this freedom of emotions, this totally REAL ability to portray his emotions. This album, more than the last, is truly some amazing rock n roll music (singer-songwriter or whatever), and closer “Sacrifice/ Let There Be Peace” is the ultimate of emotional catharsis, where one thing builds on a other and it ends in just a bellow of “there’s be peace in the valleyyyyyyyy.” Screamed by Mould as the version of emotional rock n roll.
Black Sheets of Rain, like Richard Thompson’s Shoot Out the Lights (1982), is one of the defining break up albums ever made. Minor flaws- while “One Good Reason” is a decent ballad, “Stop Your Crying” (quite indictive of its own title) and bland generic rocker “Disappointed” are a bit too whiney, and that is too bad as they keep the record form attaining a truly classic status. Still, there are a lot of amazing songs on here and as the rhythm section went back to Pere Ubu after this, Mould then prepared a new group for his own second power-trio supergroup, Sugar!
*sidenote – most issues of this come with a cover of Richard Thomson’s “Turning of the Tide” off his Amnesia album (1988). It fits in well, and shows off that influence of punky verve meets singer-songwriter with Mould’s first two albums helped invent…
Best Songs: The Last Night, Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace, Stand Guard, Out of Your Life
(1991-1995, see Sugar - PAGE COMING SOON! :))
1996
Bob Mould - 91%
Mould pulled the whole, ‘I play everything and produced’ it from Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren fame and does it all after the dissolution of Sugar. He plays drums, bass, and of course his usual guitar and makes yet another masterpiece of rock. Not that Black Sheets of Rain (1990), Copper Blue (1992) and FUEL (1994) weren’t great records in their own right because they were. Bob Mould (self-titled) is a fully formed, masterwork for an album by someone who knew exactly what he was doing. And he runs the whole gamut of the rock n roll experience on this record, by the end he might sound exasperated (as usual) but also it feels very complete.
“Anymore time Between” has a sweetness to it, an absolute sort of wonderment- and then we bleed into “I Hate Alternative Rock” which has a blistering fast, off beat guitar riff worthy of Fugazi and quite the off kilter sort of fragmentation to one of the most hard hitting songs ever. It’s among best most hard rock songs of all time, far from mere Sugar leftovers. Then comes “Fort Knox King Solomon”, a sort of daydream about the USA’s gold repository, more relaxed but still very powerful as the minor acoustic chords all build upon each other. “Next Time that You Leave” is a break up ballad that could be about the dissolution of his band Sugar (or even Husker-Du) or even just an ex-lover, but it’s a poignant one. Ending side one, “Egoverride” is the rare self-flagellating rocker where Mould sort of makes fun of himself but also manages to make a great song out of it- lyric sample “This is genius!/ This is bullshit…”
Side two starts a bit slower, with the only two songs that do nothing for me on the record- “Hairshirt” is a mundane ballad and “Thumbtack” quite lame rocker. Mould should have maybe picked up one of his Sugar B-sides (“Roads Have Led to Nowhere” or “Needle Hits E” to name a couple) over these meandering songs. Luckily, the closing trio is quite amazing- “Deep Karma Canyon” is maybe his tribute to the singer-songwriter heroes of the 1970’s in L.A.; “Art Crisis” is another hard hitting rocker proving he can just crank them out in a unique and wholly original way (very fun knowing Mould his playing all the instruments himself- loving that bass); and as always he ends it with a final summary of his whole career to this point, “Roll Over And Die” where he wails- “It’s over and done/ this WHOLE thing/ Roll Over and Die, Tonight.” Of all Mould’s solo records, this is my favorite one. It may not quite match his Sugar masterworks, but its very close and is a nice cousin to them. By this point in his career, Bob Mould has been the perfect example of singer, rocker, and philosopher. The entire history of alternative rock/ grunge/ whatever you call it owes him a debt.
Best Songs: Fort Knox King Solomon, Roll Over and Die, I Hate Alternative Rock, Egoverride
1998
The Last Dog and Pony Show - 62%
The fatigue starts showing finally and shows that Mould is only human after all on this album. While there are some glimpses to past glory especially the moody opener “New Number One” and the hard rocking in Mould’s style “First Drag of the Day”, a lot of this comes off as a bit tired. Songs like “Taking Everything”, “Mega Maniac”, and “Sweet Serene” are like Mould on auto pilot, a man who seems to be making an album just to make one and for all of his talk on his last record of it behind ‘over and done’ it actually sort of feels like it. I’m not going to say it’s awful, Bob still manages to pull off some Superchunk style energy on “Moving Trucks”, some slower pounding riffs on “Skin Trade”, and a decent closer on “Along the Way”. But everything from the weaker, flat production to the feeling of exhaustion all around makes this the first non-essential Mould release.
2002
Mouldulate – 28%
There are some albums that truly are such awful ideas they are sort of hilarious. In the whole saga of bad albums by great rock artists, from CCR’s Mardi Gras (1972), Velvet Underground’s Squeeze (1971), and The Clash’s Cut The Crap (1985), we also have Mouldulate! Even the title makes you cringe, and the music within is one of the worst ideas anyone has ever had- what if Bob Mould, pioneer of alternative and punk rock, makes an electronic disco record?!? It is somehow worse than it sounds, it’s not even worth naming any songs. All of these songs are bad. Yes, I have listened to them all.
Is it a joke? We could tell bob Was a bit tired of his own guitar sound from his last record, sure, but this has vocals you can’t even understand, everything is blurred out and confused. If the goal was dance music or electronic music, it’s like a child approaching it- the sounds do not flow together at all. I will mention the song “Semper Fi”- there is some kind of song buried under the electronic mess, but who knows what it is. Maybe Mould was trying to blur noisy electronics like he used to do with guitars, but wow. He does try to have some normal rockers too like “The Receipt” and “Come On Strong” but they are forgettable too, it’s like he doesn’t even commit to the concept he himself invented. A spectacular failure I hope he recovers from on the next album.
2005
Body of Song - 45%
After the fumble of Mouldulate, I was expecting a good album at least, that encompassed Mould's whole career, but what is here is a bunch of half-baked songs once again none of which are good. Yeah, Mould went over to “disco land” on his last album, Mouldulate, but evidently this tries to combine that with his Husker Du influenced rock n roll a bit more. Mould explains himself as making music that makes him happier these days, but a better way to say it maybe he's lost his edge. He doesn't trust his voice anymore for some reason, as I read in a 2005 review with him, and it shows in the way he makes these awful computer voice modulations to his voice, when his voice has always been one of his defining characteristics.
"Paralyzed" is probably the best song, a driving rock song that is pedestrian for Bob's standards. I don't know why this album gets good reviews at all (it did get some around the time it came out), as songs like “Light Love Hope”, “I Am Vision I am Sound” and “Days of Rain” are still among the worst of his career. Mould cannot seem to regain his true power, though sure a lot of this is better than the last album because for the most part the awful electronics are ditched. The guitar is heard more, but the song writing is not great and the use of vocalizer on his voice shows me Mould doesn’t trust his own voice right now. If the artist is not confident in himself, it always shows in the music. Twelve songs and fifty minutes of pure boredom.
2008
District Line – 33%
Much like the last album, some disco dance (Shelter Me”) and some attempts at rocking out but with no memorable melody (“Who Needs to Dream”) but its so mediocre I don’t feel like doing a whole review of this, I will be honest. I hope Mould gets out of his rut soon.
2009
Life and Times – 67%
Being a return to guitar and stepping away from the dance-disco music he has been making for the last 10 years (did that REALLY happen?), Life and Times is probably his best album since 1998’s Dog and Pony Show. "Lifetime" and "Wasted World" are at least up there somewhere in his discography as oddball rock classics, while “MM17” and the partly acoustic tile track “Life and Times” succeed at being the dejected singer songwriter Mould type songs of the 1980s. A lot of the album is merely still average though, as songs like “Argos” try to inject fun and aggression into his music but don’t do a memorable job (“Spiraling Down” is a better version of this perhaps), ditto for the string laden “Bad Blood Bitter” and forced alt rock of “The Breach” and “City Lights”. When I hear an album like this that reflects the album cover – wood panel on a house….? – it does not get me excited for the future of Mould’s music, except to say that at least it is better than him doing disco influenced rock.
Best Songs: Lifetimes, Wasted World, Life and Times
2012
Silver Age - 85%
Mould wrote a memoir in 2011 and had a brush with Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters teasing him with the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction (which has yet to happen). After a decade toiling and wasting his talent on mediocre projects (2002's Mouldulate anyone?!?), Mould's Silver Age explodes in the speakers as his return to rock music following 1998's Last Dog and Pony Show or really harking back finally to the glory of Bob Mould self-titled (1996). An album that is full of distortion a la the Beaster EP (1993) with his previous trio Sugar, the king of power trios shows off his songwriting chops finally once more. It is a successful return to form for Bob Mould who is truly one of the greatest songwriters. The first half of the record especially blasts you out of the speakers: "Star Machine" starts things off a little quiet but builds and builds to a joy of reparative Mould vocals stating ‘you said it’ over and over and drowning us in guitar solos; “The Descent” actually sounds like a Husker Du song once again, killer hooks and all; “the Silver Age” has a bit of an edge, dissing someone (personally I think it’s Dave Grohl himself) saying ‘stupid little kid wanna hate my game/I don’t wanna spot in your hall of fame/ what a fucking game”; and best of all there is “Steam of Hercules” a slower track that has a great chord progression and drowns us in Mould’s version of what it would be like to be drowned in distortion in the wake of a God.
The second half of the record is not quite as strong, though still respectable in “Fugue State” and the upbeat joy in “Keep Believing”, which is still some of Mould’s best power-pop influenced music. Only “Round the City Square” and “Angels Rearrange” are weaker songs and a bit predictable. "First Time Joy" brings back the dynamics as well and is one of Bob Mould's best album closers ever. The power Trio feeling of Sugar and Husker Du is revealed in Superchuck’s drummer John Wurster and expert bassist Jason Narducy. None of the songs go over five minutes or so, and that brings a very succinct and punchy quality to each song. Silver Age is a welcome return for the king of underground rock, and I am so glad it exists in all of its blurry, distorted hard rock glory.
Best Tracks: Steam of Hercules, First Time Joy, The Descent, Silver Age
2014
Beauty and Ruin – 89%
For me, Bob Mould is one of the most unique songwriters of all time. From his days in the hardcore progressive punk band Husker Du through his radical (or not so radical viewing certain parts of the last 2 Husker albums) change to singer-songwriter afterwards, Mould has wondered back and forth and in and out of almost every kind of music known to man. Though I think he did most of the styles very well, the exception being his club faux disco phase in the 2000's, he is always better when he is rocking out. Mould began rocking like he did in the 80’s and 90’s again on 2012’s Silver Age, a nice return to form after being reminded by Dave Ghrol’s concert in his honor from 2011 that “oh yeah I influenced an entire generation!” He can write rock songs better than anybody, and he proves it with Beauty and Ruin.
"Low Season" beings the record in a depressed mood but its heart is deep in the dirt, and the album progresses from there. “Little Glass Pill” and “Kid with the Crooked Face” are fierce and punchy like his best songs always were, while “I Don’t Know You Anymore” brings the irresistible pop chorus from the 1960’s radio into play (Bryds via Tom Petty via on and on). The slower and thoughtful verses of “The War” and “Fire in the City” put so much pathos under the distorted guitar chords it’s amazing they work at all but they can manage to make you tear up for sure telling stories from a master of alternative rock long ignored by the public. “Tomorrow Morning” is an ancestor of The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” if there ever was one.
This album barely ever pauses to take a breath- “Nemesis Are Laughing” and “Forgiveness” are straight up bizarre tunes that only work because of Mould’s will power and determination. Seriously these songs they could come from no one else, take “Hey Mr. Grey” however you will....it’s not a personal favorite of mine but many people love it. The record is clean cut like his second power trio Sugar was, but it's a beautiful mix of punk energy, acoustic ballads, and just plain unique rock n roll like no one else on the planet can do. I can highly recommend this Bob Mould album as one of the greatest albums of the decade, and it feels great has since it has been a while since I have said that! I always had faith he’d come back rocking with this kind of consistency.
Best Tracks: Fire In the City, The War, I Don't Know You Anymore, Nemeses are Laughing, Tomorrow Morning
2016
Patch the Sky – 78%
Coming down a little from the blistering attacks of his last two albums, this album was informed by Mould’s mother’s passing quite a bit and the album has more acoustic guitars and more of a sort of mellow atmosphere. “Voices in My Head” opens as one of Mould’s more pensive numbers, and it totally works thanks to an expert backing band (same xpert Bass/Drum work of Narducy and Wurster since the Silver Age (2012)). In another universe, “Hold On” is a mega hit on every commercial I swear, the song is one of those Mould tunes that sears itself into your brain, again with a killer guitar solo for the ages. In fact “hold On” sort of weirdly bridges arena rock and punk rock in an unexpected way. Other huge highlights include the absolute groove of “Losing Sleep”, showing Mould branched out into a sort of dance-rock in a GOOD way, nothing like his 2000’s output. “Lucifer and God” is a nice story of that eternal struggle, and another song that compares a relationship to the almighty – like his famous Beaster EP from Sugar all those years ago.
On the not so good front, “Pray for Rain” is somewhat of a re-write of 1996’s “Art Crisis” and “Daddy’s Favorite” and “Losing time” are not exactly genius songs. Closer “Monument” is one of his weakest closers, and “Hands are Tied” is sort of the song Mould could write in his sleep at this point, which doesn’t exactly make it ‘bad’; Mould is one of the best songwriters on this generation and a lot of this album proves that once again. I find late album gem “Black Confetti” to be quite amazing, and another Who-era tribute in his own majestical way. “You Say You” is a song I have gone back and forth on, I suppose I land somewhere in the middle- I think it’s a pretty fun little rocker but doesn’t measure up to some of the other songs. Patch the Sky overall may not match his other 2010’s albums so far (and could easily have been 2 or 3 songs shorter), but it is still decent to great Bob Mould super charged rock and quite moving at times.
Best Songs: Losing Sleep, Hold On, Lucifer and Gold, Black Confetti
2019
Sunshine Rock - 75%
Declaring his new album ‘sunshine rock’ is an apt title for what Mould has always excelled at- he has always found the fun in the punk and hard rock and made it more melodic and treble-based than most of his peers. Often, he loves to cover in noise to the point where you can’t even decipher what he is saying, look to the Husker Du days in songs like “Perfect Example” (1985) or Sugar’s “Judas Cradle” (1993). Here on brilliant opener (double entendre) “Sunshine Rock” he is trying to exemplify that and he succeeds in bringing us to this side of this personality. Other songs where this method totally works is “Send Me a Postcard” and closer “Western Sunset” which is one of the more successful pop songs he has ever done; it’s emotional and cathartic in all the right ways, like a great REM song fueled by the energy of a hardcore master.
But not all of the songs are as great as those 3, and really not all of them follow a pattern of ‘sunshine’ as you have many sort of slower songs like “Sin King”, a great mid tempo Mould tune that recalls something like “Stream of Hercules” (2012) but doesn’t exactly match the rest of the album. Strangely the album needs that kind of diversity though, and only “Sin King” really provides it. Too many songs are just super charged guitar rock with no variation- “Sunny Rock Song”, “Send Me A Post Card”, “What do You Want me to do”, “I Fought”- all good to great tracks but its sort of hard to tell them apart. Other songs are not quite as good- “Final Years”, “Irrational Poison”, the dance-disco feels of “Lost Faith” which has its moments I like, and worst of all “Camp Sunshine” which seems like a lost track on The Who’s Tommy (1969) or something but it does not work at all. So in all, it’s a very similar album as what Mould has been doing in the 2010s, some highs some lows not quite as good as his last three albums but hey- when the songs are great and you pick your favorites its still worth listening to for the die hards.
Best Songs: Western Sunset, Sin King, Sunshine Rock, Send Me a Postcard
2020
Blue Hearts - 60%
A very quick follow up to the last album, coming on at the cusp of the covid-era for the world. Opener “Heart on My Sleeve” is a nice return to acoustic, a bit political and aimed at the Trump-era presidency for sure. Ditto for “American Crisis”, where Mould is literally screaming about the state of the country, somewhat successful but like all political rock n roll it can be a bit cheesy at times. “Leather Dreams” is probably the hidden gem of a track towards the end of the record, a cool mid tempo groovy number.
Where as the schizophrenia sets in on a lot of this trying verrrry hard to rock but coming up somewhat hit and miss- “Next Generation”, “When You Left”, and “Racing to the End” all leave me a bit cold. Some of this, as decent guitar rock as it is comes off a little like besides: “Baby Needs a Cookie” and “Everything to You” are prime examples. So there is a tired feeling, political wise and just loud guitar attack wise to this one. It’s also one of Mould’s longest album of his solo career at 14 songs, and it has no need to be as about half of this is disposable.
Best Songs: Heart on My Sleeve, American Crisis, Leather Dreams
2025
Here We Go Crazy - 79%
Bob Mould returns with the best record he has had in over 10 years, ready to rock in his own unique way. Past his resurgence in the early 2010s and return to rock from a decade trying a more “disco” sound (which is his right to re-invent himself), Mould has never really strayed form his trademark alt-punk sounds, one that really defined the 1980’s underground and had a supreme influence on the direction of mainstream 90’s rock. As now beyond being an elder statesman to just a man how can right catchy songs with killer choruses, in that same way he keep the radio jingles of the 1960’s alive. “Here We Go Crazy” and especially closer “Your Side” (another example of the way Mould structures his songs, with all repeating and climaxing at the end) are great examples of this. Elsewhere, “Neanderthal” finds yet a new way to be intense, so many overlapping vocals and nasal snarls to make you dizzy; “Breathing Room” is a more controlled eruption, with excellent controlled drummer by John Wurster and lyrics that sort of seep into the unconscious.
“Sharp Little Pieces” is pure emotional storytelling keeping us waiting for the next line, and really there isn’t a boring song on the whole record. Some songs work like “You Need to Shine” work as proclamations more than music, but they definitely fit the ‘mold’ haha…. of being earworms. This is certainly a better record than Blue Hearts (2020) and Catch the Sky (2016), both of which tried a little to hard to ‘rock’. Here Mould seems at ease with his present, and most impressively his past. Some stand out more than others, but this has be the 20th good to great album the man has put out in his now 40 something year career? Surely, he has nothing left to prove to a die-hard fan like myself, from Husker Du to Sugar to finding amazing cohorts and crafting memorable rock n roll more so than any other person I can think of. A new Mould record is always a joy to discover, and I can’t wait to see him testing my eardrums’ limits well into the coming decades.
Best Songs: Your Side, Neanderthal, Hard to Get, Sharp Little Places