Garage Rock: Bob Mould's Body of Song

After devling into a jumbled world of electronica sounds recently, the electronics that open “Circles” on Bob Mould’s new Body of Sound (available July 26th) only serve to set the stage for the familiar crunch of guitar and urgent but plaintive vocals. A little bit of Royksopp-like disco ball spinning on “(Shine Your) Light Love Hope)” gives an updated sound for a new chapter on Workbook’s “See a Light Light.” “Paralyzed” is a radio-friendly rock song with keyboard overlays (a trend perhaps right now of rock songs finding differentiation from bright, very electronic keyboard solos). Those three tracks begin the album, immediately seguing from song to song with the new beat kicking in as soon as the last chord wall resonates.

That’s not to say that Mould’s signature guitar sound from Husker Du/Sugar days isn’t here. It appears on “Best Thing” and “Missing You,” that thick guitar strumming where the heaviness is in the onslaught not the distortion.

Electronic elements are the theme of the guitar rock, though, as on “I Am Vision, I Am Sound.” The meld of rock and electronica works, because neither the guitar nor the dance drum nor the electronics are pasted on. All are original parts of the composition—including the guitar solo which hearkens back to Midnight Oil’s “Dreamworld.” “I Am Vision” carries the line “give me something to believe in,” pregnant with the same desperation as Trent Reznor’s “I need something to hold onto to” (“Terrible Lie”).

This isn’t a full rave tempo exhaustion album, though. The disco ball can spin a little slower as on the laid back groove of “Always Tomorrow.” “High Fidelity” is like the last song the band plays before the Country Western bar closes for the night. Mould shows his songcraft for a tender melody, although “High Fidelity” doesn’t have the same acoustic rock from Workbook. That comes on “Gauze of Friendship,” bright strumming grounded by a bass line and incredible cello. It’s a starkly poignant song about “I’m interested in you as more than a friend because you remind me of him.” It’s stuff made for sweeping, deep cello; it’s stuff made for a Mould song.

Thanks to Bob Mould, Yep Roc Records, and Redeye Distribution for the review copy.