Music

Review: Bob Mould - Body of Song

The Bob Mould I saw at Fort Reno two years ago couldn’t have been the same guy who claimed that he was done with guitar-based recording after his Last Dog and Pony Show album. His new release, Body of Song, is a welcome confirmation of my hopes.

My tastes in Mould’s music have always tended to the tunes that have practically exploded off the record (either with joy or anger), from “Celebrated Summer” on Husker Du’s New Day Rising to Sugar’s “Favorite Thing”. With that in mind, there is plenty to like on Body of Song. The influence of Mould’s recent forays into electronica are all over (the exceptions are very Sugarish “Missing You” and “Best Thing”), and the mixture works well. The first single, “Paralyzed,” is a classic Mould power pop song, but it’s not my favorite of the work.

I’m still trying to decide between “Best Thing,” a less-than-three-minute blister of a number that just keeps ringing in my ears, and “Underneath Days,” a much weightier (and, graphic) screed that does some exploding of its own.

Body of Song is a bit like a thread through Mould’s career, with an updating that takes in his explorations during the past few years. The poignant pieces of his first solo album, Workbook, are echoed here in “Days of Rain” and “Gauze of Friendship” (nice to hear the cello again), alongside the electronic influences and driving rock. It’s difficult to write songs that at once keep with your past and move ahead into new areas. But that’s what Mould has done here, and it’s enough to satisfy his fans both old and new.