Bob Mould
District Line

What is the difference between an album you've worn out and one that, you are sure, you will put on the shelf with the others only because it seems a pity to sell it? What is the distance, if both can be attributed to the same artist and one follows the other chronologically? What distance, again, if the stylistic and sound solutions are almost the same on both albums?

Three years after the excellent "Body Of Song" (and two since its Deluxe format version, with a second CD of outtakes), Bob Mould tries to reaffirm himself as the confluence of punk rocker and DJ with this second album of rock and pop-rock enhanced by electronics. Without recalling to anyone's mind what was in the glorious past of Husker Du, Mould seems, stylistically, to refer more to his work from the nineties, both as a soloist and as the leader of Sugar, a semi-successful melodic punk trio that had a brief life in the nineties.

Already the initial "Stupid Now," a very radio-friendly track, and the following "Who Needs A Dream" would demonstrate it: the latter, then, with its acoustic and electric guitars traveling together, has melodies and sounds that recall their hit "If I Can't Change Your Mind" (not that Bob's songwriting has ever been highly varied, to be clear!), with in addition that bit of technology, inevitably, that quietly resides underneath. And again "The Silence Between Us" seems somewhat like their entertaining "Good Idea," and stands as the only episode of pure punk rock.

If the acoustic "Again And Again" recalls "Gauze Of Friendship" from the previous album, this "Body Of Song" lacks pure rock pieces, just as it lacks the sophisticated yet heartfelt ballads: it lacks something comparable to "Circles," the ingenuity of "High Fidelity," the rain of "Days Of Rain," the strength of "Underneath Days," and the speed of "Paralized." The rock-dance of "(Shine Your) Light, Love, Hope" becomes just dance in "Shelter Time." So, we're not there at all.

Even the concluding episode, usually a rock and/or experimental piece more in line with the creative freedom of the Huskers' times, is a boring guitar and voice... What could save what's worth saving are the excellent and original (!) "Old Highs, New Lows" and "Very Temporary," his standard of very sweetened punk melody, where he exaggerates a bit with the hoarseness at times.

The difference, as we were saying, between "Body Of Song" and this "District Line" lies in the quality and originality of the songwriting. You can't just listen to a track you don't like only to discover the beautiful technology that is underneath, above, or in between. It's the piece that needs to please you. And "District Line" doesn't have many pieces that I like.

An album of nice sounds, not nice songs. Unfortunately.