Distortion: 1989-2019

Everyone expected Bob Mould to have a strong and fascinating solo career after Husker Du broke up at the end of 1987, and thats just what happened, though not in the ways most fans would have expected. After traveling through hardcore into fierce but emotionally rich indie rock during Husker Dus eight years, most observers expected a whole lot more of the same. Instead, Mould followed his muse into introspective semi-acoustic musings (1989s Workbook), venomous guitar-based commentary (1990s Black Sheets of Rain), pop-conscious indie rock (Sugars 1992 Copper Blue), solo efforts with Mould on all instruments (1996s Bob Mould), detours into electronic music (2002s Modulate), and a return to guitar-based music that was initially wary (2005s Body of Song) but matured into ferocious confidence (2012s Silver Age and 2019s Sunshine Rock). To say Moulds post-Huskers career has been exciting and unpredictable stretches the boundaries of understatement, and Mould has decided to document his journey with an exhaustive 24-disc box set, Distortion: 1989-2019. Distortion includes every album he released during that 30-year span and adds four discs of live recordings and two more of rare materials and collaborative tracks. If youre looking for an in-depth study of Moulds ever-satisfying blend of rage and melody, Distortion quite literally gives you everything you could ask for, or at least so much that anything missing is ultimately trivial. Along with all his best-known albums, you get a few worthwhile lesser-known items (most notably 2006s Blowoff, an offshoot of his long-running DJ gig that blends rock and electronics with a lot more vigor than Modulate) and some sublime live moments (his cover of Richard Thompsons Shoot Out the Lights from the Workbook tour is pure catnip for fans of Moulds guitar style). However, the sheer size and scope of Distortion makes it something of a paradoxical proposition for his audience: the superfans who would consider buying a 24-disc set will doubtless own a sizable majority of this music already, and its hard to imagine many people looking to explore Moulds music for the first time would plunk down enough money to buy nearly everything at once. Distortion is an anthology thats intensely obsessive in its concept and execution, but it also presents a lot of fine, inspiring music from a guitarist and songwriter who has never stopped being relevant since the late 80s and counting as an artist, and thats absolutely an accomplishment worth celebrating. ~ Mark Deming