After throwing his fans for a loop with a full-fledged foray into electronic dance music, Bob Mould has returned to recognizable form with Body of Song. This is a good, even very good, Bob Mould album, but it doesn't measure up to masterworks like Copper Blue and Zen Arcade.
This record is already being described, quite accurately, as a summation of
Mould's career: a bit of this classic disc, a little of that one. Most of it
sounds like we've come to expect Mould to sound, but one stylistic element
stands out: the inclusion of dance pop sounds from his recent adventure in
electronica, Modulate. Husker Du wouldn't have pushed synthesizers to the
fore, employed club beats, or used robotic vocal processing, but these
elements actually work well for Mould, circa 2005. "(Shine Your) Light Love
Hope", which evidences the influence of star remixer Rich Morel, could
easily become a club hit, with its four-on-the-floor bass drum, open hi-hat,
and vocoder vocals.
There's another important new element on the album that's not stylistic, but
rather attitudinal: Mould, traditionally bitter while being entirely
tuneful, is now apparently quite happy and well-adjusted. Interestingly, the
angry songs here ("Circles", "Paralyzed", "Underneath Days") work much less
well vocally and lyrically than the other tracks. Of the songs expressing
Mould's new, more mature outlook, the standout is "High Fidelity", a bright,
wistful ballad in which he yearns for a committed relationship. As wedding
bells chime and a church organ swells in the background, he wonders if he's
"the only person living who gets no fruit off the tree" and asks, "Who could
live with me in high fidelity?"
In addition to "High Fidelity", highlights include two picture-perfect
power-pop rave-ups and two plaintive, mid-tempo songs thick with atmosphere.
"Best Thing" and "Missing You", powered by Mould's signature slashing guitar
work, sound like Sugar outtakes, and the vocal harmonies on the latter are
pure bliss. "Days of Rain" and "Always Tomorrow" feature slinky bass
grooves, spare arrangements, jagged, improvisational guitar lines, and
highly emotive performances from Mould, who, on these tracks, is solidly in
the comfort zone of his vocal range.
In spite of these fine moments, Body of Song falls short because a third of
the album -- four songs -- lack the quality of the other compositions. Like
"(Shine Your) Light Love Hope", "I Am Vision, I Am Sound" is an attempt at
mixing dance and rock, but unlike that song, this one sounds sour and
mechanical. Both "I Am Vision" and "Underneath Days" are lyrically
simplistic, repetitive, and lacking in instrumental subtlety. In contrast,
the last two songs on the album, "Gauze of Friendship" and "Beating Heart
the Prize", aim to make grand, complex statements, each stretching more than
five minutes, but they end up more unfocused than forceful. After repeated
listening, the meanings of these songs still remain obscure.
Mould has become more comfortable with himself in recent years and is
respectfully coming to terms with the sounds he has created over nearly a
quarter century of making music. Though not everything here meets the
standards he's set in the past, many of these songs will sound right at home
on his fall tour, on which he'll play material from throughout his career.
His next album will be a classic if he can focus more tightly on the many
positive qualities that make the best material on this record so satisfying.
— 28 July 2005
