Hüsker Dü
Land Speed Record

It must have been towards the end of 1982 when I acquired from a somewhat shortsighted acquaintance a batch of about ten records, including this "Land Speed Record" by Husker Du.

The album was released in the early months of the year by New Alliance records and was recorded live on a scorching mid-August of the previous year. I particularly liked the cover: hard, meaningful, printed in a gritty black/white and backlit, yet far from violence for its own sake and the desire to shock at all costs that characterized (and, alas, still characterizes today) hardcore productions. The band's logo was wonderful and the name was exceedingly intriguing too, of which I would only learn the meaning years later (other than names from tough guys that only give the impression of being Unbelievable Cazzons).
The liner notes were scarce: recorded live on August 15, '81 in Minneapolis, plus the band's lineup, at the time complete unknowns. Anyway, the fact that it was a trio already promised well - try mentally making a list of how many great bands are formed by only three people -

At that time, American hardcore had already produced its best products, and was tiredly heading to fill the creativity deficit with unnatural crosses with sterile results, at least until the end of the decade, but that's another story.
The first listen left me puzzled: it was beautiful, but it eluded the now very elastic standards in which one could categorize a punk band. Seventeen very brief compositions (with the exception of the track that closes the record), many under a minute long, blasted at the speed of light, dense and fiery (aided in this by the live performance feeling). The pieces are practically stuck together in an exciting crescendo that reaches its apotheosis on the second side (the sequence of "Tired Of Doing Things," "You're Naive," "Strange Week," "Do The Bee" and "Big Sky" still manages today to quicken my breath and makes me nod my head uncontrollably).

On a casual listen, the record could be all here (even if it's not little), yet under the deafening wall of sound produced by our guys, it's not difficult to already note the beginnings of what would later become a unique, very personal and seminal sound for dozens and dozens of other bands.
Grant Hart's drumming often works on triplets that, besides breaking the dizzying speed with an alienating effect, directly act as a primal pulsation on the listener's heart; Greg Norton's bass in some places rises from the rattling melee of sounds to climb on very personal lines (the interlude in the opening track, "All Tensed Up", for example); Bob Mould's guitar doesn't yet have the terrible and sharp sound of later works (remember "New Day Rising"?), but it’s already quite different from the usual "zapped" chords on the strings that unfortunately many groups had accustomed us to.

However, the compositions, despite so much violence, have recognizable melodic lines that oscillate between dark and introspective tones and sketches of unorthodox psychedelia. In making comparisons, the sound of "Land Speed Record" stands in antithesis to the disengaged and rowdy approach typical of emerging bands of the era, especially English ones (I think of many groups from Secret or No Future rec), but it also differs from the truly tragic compositions of the more aligned/desperate hardcore (Crucifix, Discharge, Germs, just to throw out some names).

"Land Speed Record" releases teenage spleen from the confines of the bedroom where it was relegated by a youthful mythos as resounding as it is false, to elevate it to a genuinely productive and creative mood.
A look at the lyrics confirms this impression: there are no slogans or stances in Husker Du's lyrics, but a disenchanted view that filters reality and returns it for what it is: a desolate land where there is no place for stupid enthusiasms or bellicose proclamations.

In conclusion, "Land Speed Record" is undoubtedly a not easy record but with great potential that unfolds with each new listen. For this reason, it’s not advisable to start discovering the Minneapolis band's discography from this work.

Note on the reissue: The CD version of this album features only two tracks: side 1 and side 2.
The tracks aren't separated from each other but flow uninterrupted. After a first moment of confusion, this choice is appreciated because it is indeed the best way to evaluate the record in question.