Bob Mould - 'District Line' (Beggars Banquet) Released 11/02/08

When the rock history books are written, Bob Mould will mainly be remembered for fronting one of the 80s most influential bands - Husker Du. Leaders of the avant-rock field, Husker Du had a large influence on bands such as Nirvana and Green Day, though are perhaps overshadowed in people’s minds by REM these days. Mould will be less remembered for his albums with Sugar, though the songs are no less good, and he lost a few fans on the way with his solo work that took on any tangent Mould was willing to explore (e.g. 02’s 'Modulate' that dabbled in electronic music or Workbook that dealt with folk).
 
His new album, 'District Line', has been hailed as classic Bob Mould, full on catchy, loud rock. It is that, but classic Bob Mould possibly not. The songs, written and inspired by his home Washington DC, are fine pieces of guitar rock. Mould’s sense of melody always pushing to the fore, but the thing the album lacks is something to make it really stand out, no exceptional must hear tracks. ‘The Silence Between Us’ has been picked as a single, and in many respects it does its job- sums up the tone of the album, but isn’t going to capture many new listeners.

It has also been said 'District Line' is the perfect introduction to Bob Mould’s music. Certainly the best songs do reflect the appreciation Bob Mould has of genres- ‘Again And Again’ is more a folk-rock outing, a touch of REM with Mould’s voice sounding like a rougher Johnny Cash. ‘Shelter Me’ is a nod to the aforementioned Modulate with its electronic backdrop, yet fits in well with the overall sound of the album.

Accompanying Bob on District Line are drummer Brendan Canty of Fugazi, and a nice touch in the sound-dimension department with Amy Domingues on cello. Mould may have well helped pave the way for post punk rock, but there is nothing to District Line to help it achieve superior status to its contemporaries or indeed predecessors. A good, solid rock album from one of the businesses best old-hands but nothing outstanding.