Bob Mould recently did an interview on 89.3 The Currentand after listening to the interview on-line (I only caught part of it in the car) he mentioned he had a new album coming out.

Sure enough, Googling for Bob Mould turns up his weblog with a big link to pre-order his new CD. The album comes out July 26 unless you pre-orded from Yep Rock Records in time, which I did. It shipped last Tuesday, and I received it yesterday.

The album is great. Vintage Bob Mould, he returns to his 90’s sound with guitar driven sound, and hints of his recent foray into electronica with his last album Modulate. A good example of where the guitar + minor bits of electronica is (Shine Your) Light Love Hope, which mixes both sounds very well, as does I am Vision I am Sound. The next track on the album, Paralyzed is a great example of the power guitar that made Sugar and Bob Mould’s albums so well done. Best Thing, Underneath Days and Missing You are a fewyou have to check out for the signature Bob Mould guitar sound.

A few ballads are even thrown in to mix it up – High Fidelity slows it down, while Gauze of Friendship is well done on the acoustic guitar.

I purchased the 2 disc special edition, and am happy and sad at the same time. Happy that I got the 2nd (bonus) 9 track CD, with 2 remixes of (Shine Your) Light Love Hope and a remix of Paralyzed. The 2 disc set comes in a box, with extra artwork and the second disc (photo below).

I’m disappointed in that both discs are enclosed in a paper case, rather than a nicer jewel case. The artwork, while well done, as loose sheets that are jewel case sized, will probably never see the light of day outside the special edition box. I would have preferred a slightly larger box with both discs in a hard jewel case, which would make using in the car and treating right much easier.

The price for the pre-order was right – at first I thought $25 + $4 shipping was a bit high, but looking at Amazon’s pre-order price with a $29 retail and everyday price of $26 I actually got a deal. The music is vintage Bob Mould, well done, and well worth the money spent.

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