The concluding “Lifetime” includes its share of bells and whistles and proves his recent brush with electronica isn’t just a passing fancy. Bowie-like vocals and synth-laden keyboards highlight this dreamy, relaxing counterpunch to the manic “Argos,” a 2-minute, 4-second pummeling of the senses written “for my theoretical gay punk rock band,” said Mould, who didn’t openly reveal his sexual identity until the 1990s. Take out the gay references, and “Argos” could have fit perfectly on Husker Du’s landmark double album, Warehouse: Songs and Stories, in 1987.
Mould has grown as a musician over the years, needing only drummer Jon Wurster’s assistance for his latest, recorded in his Washington D.C. home studio, where he added bass, keyboards and percussion to his signature line of blistering guitars.
But there’s no getting past Mould’s damaged psyche, real or fictitious. He may be as well-adjusted as any Guitar God nearing the big 5-0 can be. If this CD focusing on the fragility of relationships isn’t autobiographical, as his publicity material and the album’s title lead you to believe, just imagine what Mould is really thinking.
Those thoughts will arrive in the form of a memoir to be published in 2010. If you're into pain, that should be as pleasurable as watching the dentist grab an ax to perform your root canal.
Extras
• For Bob Mould news, song clips, photos and more, go to his website or MySpace page.
• See a review of Bob Mould’s April performance at Coachella at pastemagazine.com.
• See Bob Mould perform "I’m Sorry, Baby, But You Can’t Stand In My Light Any More” below:
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