Post by thesoundmonitor on May 28, 2004 8:34:55 GMT -5
SUGAR
Beaster
(White Records)
When people think of Bob Mould, their initial thoughts tend to centre around his work with the punk/pop whirlwind that was Hüsker Dü. His later work, either solo or with Sugar, while commercially successful and highly regarded, has never really been spoken about in the same reverential tones.
But nestled between 1992's slick sounding Copper Blue, and 1994's kitsch and breezy File Under: Easy Listening, is an easy-to-overlook 6-track EP called Beaster.
Rather than an afterthought or an aberration, Beaster represents Mould at his most visionary and most mature.
The opening track, ‘Come Around’, is a variation on a theme established in the opening seconds by a tenderly strummed guitar intro. Four and a half minutes after it sucks you in, you emerge from what already seems like a distant, wistful memory.
The next three tracks, ‘Tilted’, ‘Judas Cradle’, and ‘JC Auto’, are a tumultuous ride through the realms of confusion, anger, pain, and regret.
The frenetic ‘Tilted’ features a solo that simply has to be heard to be believed.
’Judas Cradle’ is an uncomfortable listen, to say the least. What would you have done if you were Judas? "It's not telling truth or lies/It's about convenience". Trust, deception and denial, all wrapped up in the snaking atonalities of a musical conjurer.
And just when you might have abandoned hope, redemption comes along in the form of ‘JC Auto’. Still dark, but uplifting too. "Shake these demons off my back and I can make better".
The last two songs aren't even that great, but there's nowhere else to go after the first four. These songs say more than many bands manage to convey over an entire career.
Mould has a way of filling the upper registers with the most effortlessly hypnotic lead guitar work you can imagine. It doesn't push itself upon you, but defies the listener to seek it out, residing almost unnoticed at the edge of consciousness. When pinned down, it reveals the most beautiful intricacies - a sure sign of the work of a master craftsman.
Beaster is an work of almost unprecedented depth, vision, and bleakness, and another high point in the career of an extraordinary artist.
By Matt Harris
www.bobmould.com/
Beaster
(White Records)
When people think of Bob Mould, their initial thoughts tend to centre around his work with the punk/pop whirlwind that was Hüsker Dü. His later work, either solo or with Sugar, while commercially successful and highly regarded, has never really been spoken about in the same reverential tones.
But nestled between 1992's slick sounding Copper Blue, and 1994's kitsch and breezy File Under: Easy Listening, is an easy-to-overlook 6-track EP called Beaster.
Rather than an afterthought or an aberration, Beaster represents Mould at his most visionary and most mature.
The opening track, ‘Come Around’, is a variation on a theme established in the opening seconds by a tenderly strummed guitar intro. Four and a half minutes after it sucks you in, you emerge from what already seems like a distant, wistful memory.
The next three tracks, ‘Tilted’, ‘Judas Cradle’, and ‘JC Auto’, are a tumultuous ride through the realms of confusion, anger, pain, and regret.
The frenetic ‘Tilted’ features a solo that simply has to be heard to be believed.
’Judas Cradle’ is an uncomfortable listen, to say the least. What would you have done if you were Judas? "It's not telling truth or lies/It's about convenience". Trust, deception and denial, all wrapped up in the snaking atonalities of a musical conjurer.
And just when you might have abandoned hope, redemption comes along in the form of ‘JC Auto’. Still dark, but uplifting too. "Shake these demons off my back and I can make better".
The last two songs aren't even that great, but there's nowhere else to go after the first four. These songs say more than many bands manage to convey over an entire career.
Mould has a way of filling the upper registers with the most effortlessly hypnotic lead guitar work you can imagine. It doesn't push itself upon you, but defies the listener to seek it out, residing almost unnoticed at the edge of consciousness. When pinned down, it reveals the most beautiful intricacies - a sure sign of the work of a master craftsman.
Beaster is an work of almost unprecedented depth, vision, and bleakness, and another high point in the career of an extraordinary artist.
By Matt Harris
www.bobmould.com/