Bob Mould - District Line (Cooking Vinyl)
2/5
By: Liam Manley
When Double Fantasy was released in 1980, John Lennon couldn't give it away, but then it's amazing what getting brutally murdered can do for record sales. However, should the same misfortune befall either Bob Mould or, say, Frank Black, tomorrow, it's hard to imagine a similar rapid re-evaluation would being made of their recent solo output.
I merely use Black Francis as a quick point of reference due to the similarities between the two: rotund baldy (yes/yes); revered pre-grunge band (Husker Du/Pixies); critically-lauded mid-grunge high-point (Copper Blue/Teenager Of The Year); subsequent years of decline, with each new effort regarded at best, to paraphrase Sick Boy, as merely a blip on an otherwise downward trajectory.
One area where similarities cease is the question of the lucrative re-union, with The Pixies seemingly grabbing the opportunity with both hands, milking every last drop of this particularly cash cow whilst only producing a single download-only song. Full credit to Mould, however, for so far resisting the temptation to re-form Husker Du and trawl the circuit that has seen bands such as Dinosaur Jnr, Slint, Sebadoh, Smashing Pumpkins and, most recently, My Bloody Valentine, doing the rounds.
Although revered, Mould has never quite achieved the same cache (in the UK, at least) that has seen the aforementioned artists headline summer festivals, but his influence can certainly be heard in the stadium grunge-lite of Foo Fighters, Weezer and Fall Out Boy, which is exactly where District Line fits in.
Confusing slick accessibility for charm, this chunky AM rock collection certainly wouldn't look out of place with the neo-emo set that have colonised T4 US serials and numerous interminable Ryan Reynolds vehicles, while ballad 'Again and Again' is most reminiscent of REM's last attempt to destroy any remaining credibility, Around The Sun.
Elements of Mould's flirtations with electronica can be found throughout the album, most strongly on 'Shelter Me', with its piston-like hi-hat and snare, courtesy of DC Hardcore legend Brendan Canty, who provides drums throughout the record, though surely the post-punk dance bandwagon has long since left town.
Aside from these issues, the main bone of contention lies with Mould's modulated, double-tracked and seemingly pitch-corrected vocals and insistence on melodramatically emphasising the last syllable of each sentence, which renders it almost impossible to consider him sincere.
With each track smothered with the production qualities to make this an instant MTV2 favourite, it's difficult to see how this forty-something would be embraced by the image and youth obsessed Biffy Clyro or My Chemical Romance hordes.
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