There are a couple of things you need to remember when listening to a new Bob Mould record. First off, Mould will never be able to meet the fervor and frenzy of his Husker Dü days or the heartfelt perfection of the Sugar records. And when an artist has a discography as vast as his, there are bound to be some missteps. Take 2005’s Body of Song, where Mould edged away from his signature punky college rock for trancy, vocoder-infused dance punk. Or 2012’s Silver Age, which he recorded after spending a bunch of time hanging out with Dave Grohl—the whole thing kinda sounds like a Foo Fighters record. Luckily, Mould’s on his A game on his 13th solo release, this month’s Sunshine Rock. Recorded with a lean power trio featuring Superchunk’s Jason Narducy and John Wurster on bass and drums, respectively, the album is full of the kind of high-energy, rough-around-the-edges, warm-and-fuzzy grown-up punk tunes that made the music world love Bob Mould from the start. Packed with wall-of-sound chords and backed with an absolutely slamming performance by the rhythm section, every song on Sunshine Rock is strong, bold, and bursting with hooks. v
Bob Mould hammers out more reasons to love him on Sunshine Rock
