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Quick thoughts on Bob Mould’s new CD – Modulate – A ‘DuReview!

Being a longtime Bob Mould fan, I couldn’t wait to give a listen to his newest album from Granary Music. Finally, after 4 long years, some new Bob Mould music!!!!! So I eagerly waited for my shipment from Amazon to arrive… checking on the UPS site every day for updates. Last week, it finally arrived and I wasted no time in popping it in my CD player and hitting “Play”. As I was waiting for those great growling guitars- I finally heard the start of the first track “180 Rain”. My first reaction?….. What the f**** is this crap??????

I was surprised to hear the complete change in style of music. I actually had to stop it and check whether this was the right CD. When you listen to a Bob Mould record, the first thing you expect is the buzzsaw guitar that has become part of his trademark sound….whether it be from his solo, Sugar or Husker Du days…. and that’s exactly what was mostly missing from this album. Man, the first track that could be called a “classic-style” Mould tune was on track 8 (The Receipt)!!!! The song I hated most from “The Last Dog & Pony Show” (his last effort, which was excellent) was “Megamanic”, and most of the tracks on this album sounded like that horrific tune!!!! My first reaction was disappointment – at how different this sounds…. then anger – how could Bob alienate his hardcore fans like this? How dare he?!?!?! After all this anticipation… this is all I get? Damn you Bob… I wany my money back!!!

After I calmed down (and after figuring out that I wouldn’t get my money back no matter how hard I complained or begged), I decided to give it another shot. This time trying to be more open-minded and not expecting the old Bob Mould, and you know what I discovered? It IS still a Bob Mould album…. underneath all those layers of electronic samples are the same great, melodic, power-pop songs that Bob is known for. I always knew that Bob’s music could transcend different musical styles – as it did from hardcore to power-pop, but electronica? That was a real jarring change. The second listen of Modulate for me was like finally recognizing someone you know after they’ve had an abrupt appearance change (like growing a beard, getting plastic surgery done or getting liposuction). So it really is him underneath that clutter of synthesizers and samplers.

If you want to hear the old school Bob Mould, there’s still some of it here for you, most notably “The Receipt”,”Sound On Sound” and “Come On Strong”. But the rest of the songs are in the new Bob Mould style. It really sounds like Bob’s taken a liking to his computers and it shows – just check out “Trade”, “Sunset Safety Glass”, and “Lost Zoloft”. The lyrics are still the same though…. the same great, gloomy train of thought that was evident from the Sugar days to his previous solo efforts. If you’re a fan of Bob Mould’s older music and would just like to hear more of the same, you should program your CD player to play tracks 8, 10, & 12 and repeat… otherwise I think you can live without ever hearing this album. If you’re open to experimentation though, try this out, you might be nicely surprised.

Best tracks: Sound On Sound, Trade, Come On Strong

On a scale of 1 to 5 stars, I’d give Modulate a 3 1/2.

For the record also, “Copper Blue” by Sugar is still the best damn album ever made! Not a wasted track on that one!