Bob Mould – Patch The Sky

 

Bob Mould – Patch The Sky

By

Jesse E. Mullen

 

You’ve led two critically acclaimed and highly influential groups. You’ve inspired dozens of groups to follow in your footsteps. And now you’ve made two recently acclaimed albums about aging as a punk musician. Where do you go from here?

So was the story of Bob Mould in 2016. The former Husker Du and Sugar leader had felt rejuvenated in the wake of his 2011 memoir See A Little Light. And writing the book seems to have greatly influenced his style of songwriting in the years following it.

If 2012’s Silver Age showed Mould making sense of the challenges of aging, 2014’s Beauty & Ruin was even more specific. Songs like “Let The Beauty Be” read like letters to Mould’s younger self. “Hey Mr. Grey” turns middle-aged cliches into a rock anthem.

Like his hero Pete Townshend before him, Bob Mould is always best when working within a specific concept. So, when Mould announced Patch The Sky for release in March 2016, fans had high hopes it could measure up to both of the albums preceding it. But how does it stack up?

Leadoff track “Voices In My Head” features a rising and falling melody, and warm (slightly fuzzy) electric guitars. But the lyrics tell a slightly darker picture. Mould sings of “strange hallucinations” and shutting out the outside world. He also broaches the topic of suicide.

The song ultimately has a positive conclusion, however. Towards the end, Mould sings of “getting on with life instead” and letting go of all his “ghosts and demons.” It’s atypical subject matter for a Mould opener, but one which stirs the thoughts of the listener.

Elsewhere, Mould is in more familiar territory. The powerpoppy “You Say You” and “The End Of Things” again show Mould’s affinity for loud, up-tempo Who-styled rock. “Daddy’s Favorite” could have fit on Beauty & Ruin with Mould again addressing his younger self. With both of his parents now deceased, Mould was able to fully reflect on his upbringing.

I would be remiss not to mention the band chemistry at play on this album. Drummer Jon Wurster of Superchunk is a force behind the kit as always. His muscular fluidity, sheer power, and tight fills bring the songs to life. It is tempting to say that he is the best drummer Mould has ever worked with. (No offense to Grant Hart or Malcolm Travis.)

Bassist Jason Narducy plays with a melodic heaviness that blends with Mould’s fuzzy leads. A strong guitarist in his own right, Narducy’s role is almost that of a rhythm guitarist – similarly to Lou Barlow’s role in Dinosaur Jr.

Of course, Mould is the star of the show, playing and singing his heart out. He is in fine voice throughout, singing (and occasionally shouting) his way through melodically. As the singer and songwriter, he is naturally the emotional center. But his performances are indeed commendable.

“Black Confetti” is perhaps the best song of all. A blurry, fuzzed-out shoegazing track, it displays Mould’s love for My Bloody Valentine. Mould has made no secret of his love for that group’s 1991 opus Loveless. He wrote extensively in his memoir of how it felt like a distillation of all he had wanted to achieve with electric guitars in Husker Du.

Here, he is finally able to capture the sound in one song. A whirring, droning minor key guitar melody with barre chords and plenty of tremolo gives the track a hazy feeling. And the tight mid-tempo drumming of Wurster holds the entire thing together. The cumulative effects of the production, sonics, and arrangement are hair-raising in their meditative qualities.

With Patch The Sky, Bob Mould proves again that getting older can be a great inspiration in the right hands. While some artists may be limited by their advancing age, Mould isn’t afraid of the ghosts of his past or the voices in his head.

Merge/2016