Bob Mould - 'Body of Song' out in July

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Yep Roc Announces Release of New Bob Mould Album!
March 22, 2005, 1:55 pm

BOB MOULD
BODY OF SONG
TO BE RELEASED JULY 26

Bob Mould returns to the signature guitar sound and songwriting style that helped define a genre on Body Of Song, due out July 26 on Yep Roc.

Written and recorded mostly over the course of the past year, Body Of Song is Mould's first new album length release since 2002, and his first since the mid-90s to employ a guitar-heavy full-band approach ("Paralyzed," "Circles") as well as a few subdued, acoustic-based ballads ("High Fidelity," "Days Of Rain") and some new twists, such as the electronically treated vocals riding atop waves of guitar on "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope."

Guest musicians on Body Of Song include Brendan Canty (Fugazi), David Barbe (Sugar), Matt Hammon (1998 Bob Mould Band), and Amy Domingues (Garland Of Hours).

Body Of Song's release will be followed by a fall world tour that will see Mould performing material from all stages of his career-solo, Sugar, Husker Du-for the first time in a full band context. Of the above musicians, Canty has signed on to play drums for the tour.

Body Of Song was produced and mixed by Bob Mould with engineers Don Zientara (Inner Ear Studio, Arlington VA), David Barbe (Chase Park Transduction, Athens GA), Frank Marchand (Waterford Digital, Pasadena MD), and Mould himself (Granary NYC, Granary WDC).

― wombatX (wombatX), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 05:28 (twenty years ago)

I'm keeping expectations low (hoping to be surprised).

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 05:51 (twenty years ago)

Hoping for something more than just a 'solid' Bob album ala Last Dog & Pony Show. This was originally due out in 2002 to follow up Modulate and Long Playing Grooves but has undergone extensive re-recording. Anybody want to risk getting their hopes up way too high with me?

(x-post)

― wombatX (wombatX), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 05:55 (twenty years ago)

Ok, I'll join you in the blind-optimism department. It'll be interesting to hear the Husker Du stuff live too. Although I fear it'll suffer from session-band syndrome, I doubt any line-up could capture the rawness of the Huskers.

― bg, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 07:20 (twenty years ago)

It was originally going to come out in 2003, but that was changed at some point, though fans were promised a live CD or DVD in stead. Nothing did come out that year. So, yeah, it's been a three-year wait. Which I couldn't care less about if this is a great record, which I think it might be.

01 Circles
02 (Shine Your) Light Love Hope
03 Paralyzed
04 I Am Vision, I Am Sound
05 Fucked Underneath Days
06 Always Tomorrow
07 Days Of Rain
08 Best Thing
09 High Fidelity
10 Missing You
11 Surveyors And Cranes
12 Gauze Of Friendship
13 My Old Friend
14 Beating Heart The Prize

"Circles" is one of his better songs, if you ask me, and "High Fidelity" and "Gauze Of Friendship" ain't no slouches either. I know those from the shows of the past few years--of course, "Hi Fi" has been around for eight years or so! "Paralyzed" I remember being strong the one time I heard it. "My Old Friend" was kind of hard to gauge--might not be all that great, but hearing it live, once, doesn't seem fair as it's kind of a Neil-esque jammy thing.

Looks like he dropped "Weak From Desire", which was a simple, didn't-think-much-of-it-at-first, but-was-starting-to-like-it tune from the last few years.

― John 2, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 12:55 (twenty years ago)

Will this be his first new effort since moving to DC? Although, I know that he's also on that live dvd of DC bands that Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty released on his own Trixie label. Canty has drummed live with Mould some. I also like the playing of cello musician Amy Domingues who I see is going to be on this.

Mould's modulate blog often ends up being more about Mould's efforts to get to the gym as often as possible, rather than his music.

― steve-k, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 14:23 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it would be. 'Cause I remember it was during the tour for 'Modulate' (released in 2002) that he first made mention of him moving. And 2002 was the last time he released an album--'Modulate', the 'LiveDog' record, and the one album as 'Loudbomb'.

Although I think the Blowoff (Bob & Rich Morel) record has been done for a while, maybe meaning that technically it was completed before 'Body Of Song'.

― John 2, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

Brendan Canty production intrigues me. I think Mould has needed an outside ear for a while. I liked basically one song on each of the last Mould albums ("New #1" and "Trade").

― miccio (miccio), Tuesday, 5 April 2005 14:48 (twenty years ago)

this is cool. hope its good. he was talking a couple of years ago that he was getting too old to rock out and hearing also about the gym and weight issues .... that was right when he did Last Dog and Pony Show -- which in my mind was kind of a sad midlife crisis album and pretty much sucked donkey-balls - well, not really that bad, but such a dissappointment coming from him. i just remember when he was fat and angry and loud it was all very good.

hopeful

― Susan Douglas, Tuesday, 5 April 2005 16:26 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

http://idisk.mac.com/granarymusic/Public/boscover360.jpg

― wombatX (wombatX), Monday, 16 May 2005 03:08 (twenty years ago)

It's radiant!

― wombatX (wombatX), Monday, 16 May 2005 03:08 (twenty years ago)

http://www.threemoviebuffs.com/miscreview/zoolander2.jpg

IT'S GLORIOUS

― Jimmy Mod, Sultan of Sexxitime (ModJ), Monday, 16 May 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

did this leak or are you referring to the cover? i need to know!

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 16 May 2005 03:49 (twenty years ago)

Just the cover, sorry. Nothing's leaked (except me, slightly, in anticipation.)

― wombatX (wombatX), Monday, 16 May 2005 03:53 (twenty years ago)

oh damn. DAMNIT!! hmmm, well we must pace ourselves in the excitement arena and u know why too. but i'm already excited too - something about the cover is good. I don't like the title though-sounds too ambitious and makes me worry.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Monday, 16 May 2005 05:00 (twenty years ago)

Okay, the leak has happened. However, I can't really tell if I'm liking it or not. Lay off the vocal modulation, Bobbo!

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 17:36 (twenty years ago)

More like Black Sheets of Rain than any of the Ryko albums, I'm thinking.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 17:39 (twenty years ago)

vocally or instrumentally - black sheets had that heavy metal guitar sound that i can't imagine sounding fresh/interesting now - but i remember the vocals were pretty good. can you expound?

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

The guitar's not as heavy sounding as on Black Sheets, but the songwriting is in the same vein (sharp key changes, etc). The vocals on Body of Song are strong (when they're not being electonically toyed with).

Ooh! I just got to "Best Thing" and it sounds like it could have been on Warehouse.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 17:53 (twenty years ago)

Add "Missing You" to the late-Husker style list, as well.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 17:57 (twenty years ago)

it sounds potentially interesting-i'm glad the vocals are strong. would you be willing to share any of it?

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 18:11 (twenty years ago)

if you're on slsk, my username is brasstax. if not, i could probably do a ysi.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

not on slsk so if you don't mind to ysi-that'd be great. one or 2 songs even would be great. thx.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

Okay, I'm gonna step off from the Black Sheets comparison. It only applies for a couple songs (that should teach me to shoot my mouth off too early). Still, it's more like the Virgin lps and the first Sugar lp than anything since, only there's some electronic gobbeldygook thrown in.

YSI in progress.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 18:38 (twenty years ago)

you're description is giving me hope! god, (unrelated) - listened to sunspots agani last nite and nearly lost it on how great it is - its still so good after the 200th or so listen.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 18:51 (twenty years ago)

hah Susan, I just made "Sunspots" my ringtone last night!

― don weiner, Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:02 (twenty years ago)

i bet your phone is loving it!

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:05 (twenty years ago)

I am totally getting some BM nostalgia vapors - I found a copy of Besides used w/ the live disc included earlier this week, and all this talk about Workbook & Black Sheets is getting me all frisky to go drop some charges on my credit card & buy all his stuff up again.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:07 (twenty years ago)

been wanting to too-just get everything again. i don't listen to his stuff a lot lately, esp. complete albums- but its good to have on hand when you are in that mood-its what you need. a month ago i made a mix of anthemic and intense electronica for myself and felt the odd need to include "Dreaming, I am" - not even really remembering how it sounded, which actually ended up being one of his more era-evoking aged-sounding emotive not anyway related to current music esp. techno-ish stuff songs - but it worked great.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:20 (twenty years ago)

http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0M0LUHTKPRYBH0D9VMDGMM15JJ

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

Brendan Canty production intrigues me. I think Mould has needed an outside ear for a while. I liked basically one song on each of the last Mould albums ("New #1" and "Trade").

And "Trade" was a Workbook outtake.

I caught him a couple months back at the Field Museum in Chicago and wasn't that impressed with the new stuff. But I'm still eager to hear the record -- the Field is a crummy place to hear a show, and Bob hasn't changed up his strumstrumstrumstrumohwishingwellyeahyeahyeahohhhhhhstrumstrumstrum schtick at acoustic shows for years. His voice was stronger than I've ever heard it, though.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

Meaning that "Trade," the song, was originally written for Workbook -- not that the version on Modulate is the outtake itself.

― m.e.a. (m.e.a.), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 19:51 (twenty years ago)

xxpost-thk you

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 18 May 2005 20:00 (twenty years ago)

Thanks man...I've been anxiously awaiting this for the past 2 years.

― billy g, Wednesday, 18 May 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

Circles - reminds me of stuff on last dog and pony show except for guitar solo bits; i'm not liking the drum/rythmic and pace on that track. Light Love Hope has good energy but seems a bit weak and i'm not sure about the cher vocals there either.

i'm forwarding through tracks but stuff that is familiar def. seems last dog and pony-esque. the lyrics are paining me a bit too. Gauze of Friendship is kinda very nice in parts - but definitely derivative of his past work and the vocals/lyrics - not sure what the problem. anyone else? i'm hoping this is just my negative streak.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 19 May 2005 00:05 (twenty years ago)

I've listened to it three times now all the way through. It's really varied. Maybe it's a case of "absence makes the heart grow fonder" or something, or maybe I'm just being terribly generous with my opinions, but I really do like almost all of it.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 19 May 2005 00:13 (twenty years ago)

I'm thinking of taking the afternoon off so I can go home and download it.

― wombatX (wombatX), Thursday, 19 May 2005 00:13 (twenty years ago)

i had to stop and listen to some of his old stuff. but i'm going to try again tonite. this seems to be a PAINFUL process for some reason. wombat-good idea on taking afternoon off.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 19 May 2005 00:22 (twenty years ago)

i listened to this all last nite - but not the whole thing yet. i'm liking it more for sure.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 19 May 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

I knew you would!

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 19 May 2005 17:39 (twenty years ago)

yeah but i'm not sure its a good thing!! i'm excited to listen to it more tonite. last nite i liked:
1. circles - but just for its guitar solo
2. light love hope - though it could have been so much better with different vocal treatment
3. days of rain
4. missing you - a lot but he's done this song so many times
5. gauze of friendship
6. best thing
7. high fidelity - which is a totally totally bizarre song
8. beating heart the prize
- i feel like his voice doesn't sound its best on this album and he's definitely using it differently, but i'm getting a little of a guitar fix but it seems to be same old stuff.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 19 May 2005 18:16 (twenty years ago)

and is that really him from that compilation "songs inspired by Hedwig..." song called "Nails" I found on itunes last nite. funny b/c i always thought bob had a dance streak in him, yet the voice is totally not sounding like his.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 19 May 2005 18:19 (twenty years ago)

is anyone still listening to this? i really like hi fidelity but am not feeling the rest of it.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 00:12 (twenty years ago)

It's... not very good...

― Jimmy Mod Is Great At Getting Us Into Trouble (ModJ), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

yeah i kinda agree. i had a moment where i thought i could like it and then i had a moment right after than where i was like GODDDD SO BAD!!! BLECH!!! and now i just think its ok. i think he'll rebound though...eventually.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 17:56 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

Recently picked this one up. Advertised as a return to rock it definitely is more than that. I like it.

― Jim Reckling (Jim Reckling), Thursday, 18 August 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

i'm liking it a bit more too. "high fidelity" is pretty great.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Thursday, 18 August 2005 23:22 (twenty years ago)

It's solid.. better than Modulate for sure and about on a par with Dog and Pony. For mine, it's not the blistering return to form it's being heralded as, but then I don't think his post-Sugar output represented a loss of form in the first place. His post-Husker output has always been decent, with Copper Blue and Beaster the high-water mark. Dog and Pony actually has two of my favourite Mould tracks 'Sweet Serene' and 'Reflecting Pool' (although sadly, they sandwich the excruciating 'Megamanic' which was surely the low point of his career and pointed the way to the ill-advised Modulate.)

― wombatX (wombatX), Thursday, 18 August 2005 23:34 (twenty years ago)

I sprung for the limited edition with the second disc. It arrived the week of release...

When he broke out the pitch-shifter/vocoder effects two tracks in, I hit eject and haven't even bothered to try again yet.

― Edward Bax (EdBax), Friday, 19 August 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

"Sugar meets Cher" as it was described on another thread.

― wombatX (wombatX), Friday, 19 August 2005 00:32 (twenty years ago)

Exactly. He pulled that crap on Modulate and apparently ignored all those who found it annoying last time out.

― Edward Bax (EdBax), Friday, 19 August 2005 01:00 (twenty years ago)

Bob Mould should know better than to have fun.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 19 August 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

Haha!

― Edward Bax (EdBax), Friday, 19 August 2005 03:10 (twenty years ago)

what i like about these tracks is there's some energy and inspiration going on and kinda intrigued that he's playing wiht his voice which has been so stable and signature to his music. its also fucking daring to be so open about your creative process. ---"Megamanic" is so fucking bad,like SO FUCKING BAD and he knew it, but so what.. its out there and perhaps its freeing to show the heavy duty UGLY tools you use for breaking up creative blocks etc.

"light love hope" is kinda flawed, but its one of my more fave tracks on the new album.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Friday, 19 August 2005 05:31 (twenty years ago)

I really like "Shine Your Light Love Hope" actually. "High Fidelity" made me cringe but it's a pretty tune.

― wombatX (wombatX), Friday, 19 August 2005 06:01 (twenty years ago)

yeah very pretty and sweet. cringe - probably b/c the mixture of innocuous and silly music (that flourish at the end) mixed with him singing with faux country twang and swagger about ...polyamory! i think the song straddles the line between camp/earnestness beautifully...supported by the title and lyrics "how can i be? the only living person who gets no fruit off the tree?" ! "as I tumble down to the depths below. there some flowers growin there. I'LL DID EM OUT!"

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Friday, 19 August 2005 06:26 (twenty years ago)

A few weeks later, I have managed to suppress the gag/eject reflex and get past "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope". It's not "Megamagic" but it's definitely a buzzkill.

The rest of the record is actually alright. I'm not real found of "I Am Vision, I Am Sound", either. And "High Fidelity" has had the life sucked out of it when it finally saw the light of day (same problem "New #1" had).

Overall, it's alright. Better than "Mouldate", er, "Modulate".

― Edward Bax (EdBax), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 11:49 (twenty years ago)

"Body of Song" also furthers my conviction that Mould's records are at their best when he has more of a band, and especially a real drummer.

― Edward Bax (EdBax), Wednesday, 31 August 2005 15:14 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

Anyone caught the solo tour?

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Friday, 2 December 2005 22:56 (twenty years ago)

xpost - New #1 was so wrong. so wrong! wasn't it?

i don't feel "hi fidelity" is lifeless. there's definitely resignation along with alot of other feelings ... he doesn't want to accept it, but what choice does he have? he's the only gay man who isn't into polyamory, yet still its not you know, him. and at the same time he feels ridiculous talking about the subject (maybe). its a complex song in terms of tone, which is perfect for its emot. material. but to be honest i kinda miss him being in either uncontained fire mode or perfect austereness mode.

― Susan Douglas (Susan Douglas), Sunday, 4 December 2005 03:46 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Live DVD in october, finally.

http://trixiedvd.com/projects/bob_mould

― StanM, Friday, 22 June 2007 09:38 (eighteen years ago)

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