Blue Hearts (album)
Blue Hearts is an album by the American alternative rock musician Bob Mould, released in 2020.[1][2] Mould considered the tracks to be protest songs.[3]
| Blue Hearts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2020 | |||
| Studio | Electrical Audio | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Label | Merge Records | |||
| Producer | Bob Mould | |||
| Bob Mould chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album peaked at No. 181 on the Billboard 200.[4]
Production
Mould was joined on the album by drummer John Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy.[5] Thirteen of Blue Heart's 14 tracks are less than three minutes in length.[6] Produced by Mould, it was recorded at Electrical Audio, in Chicago.[7][8]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Winnipeg Free Press | |
The New Yorker concluded that Mould "calls forth his hardest and most focussed music in years ... These tuneful guitar blitzkriegs have plenty of room for playfulness alongside the bile."[12] Rolling Stone wrote that "what makes it jaw-dropping is the precision with which Mould has focused his ire on conservatives, evangelicals, homophobes, while leaving room for some self-criticism as well."[10]
The Morning Call thought that the "blunt lyrics are matched by a furious musical assault."[13] The Winnipeg Free Press determined that "Narducy and Wurster ... are lifers and whose relentless rock ‘n’ roll groove is the perfect complement to Mould’s spiky melodicism."[11] The Sunday Times opined that the album "represents a howl of anger, its muddy production heightening the sense of gloom and claustrophobia."[14]
AllMusic deemed the album "a fast, furious, passionate broadside," writing that "the sound of Blue Hearts bears a certain resemblance to the music Mould made with Hüsker Dü in its physical power and lack of emotional compromise."[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heart on My Sleeve" | |
| 2. | "Next Generation" | |
| 3. | "American Crisis" | |
| 4. | "Fireball" | |
| 5. | "Forecast of Rain" | |
| 6. | "When You Left" | |
| 7. | "Siberian Butterfly" | |
| 8. | "Everyth!ng to You" | |
| 9. | "Racing to the End" | |
| 10. | "Baby Needs a Cookie" | |
| 11. | "Little Pieces" | |
| 12. | "Leather Dreams" | |
| 13. | "Password to My Soul" | |
| 14. | "The Ocean" |
References
- "Bob Mould on the Unfiltered Truth of New LP Blue Hearts". SPIN. September 22, 2020.
- "Bob Mould Unplugs To Perform Songs From His Latest Album, 'Blue Hearts' : World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN". NPR.
- "Bob Mould, 'Blue Hearts'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 24 Sep 2020. p. WE3.
- "Bob Mould". Billboard.
- Kopp, Bill (September 29, 2021). "Bob Mould Wears 'Blue Hearts' on His Sleeve". SF Weekly.
- Horn, Mark C. "Bob Mould Has a New Album and Plenty to Say About the State of the Country". Phoenix New Times.
- Curley, John (Nov 2020). "BOB MOULD". Goldmine. 46 (11): 23.
- Riemenschneider, Chris (23 Sep 2020). "Bob Mould's on fire with new album". Star Tribune. p. E1.
- "Blue Hearts - Bob Mould | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
- Grow, Kory (September 24, 2020). "Bob Mould Rages Gloriously Against Injustice on 'Blue Hearts'". Rolling Stone.
- Kendle, John (26 Nov 2020). "POP / ROCK". Winnipeg Free Press. p. D2.
- "Bob Mould Blue Hearts". The New Yorker.
- Sculley, Alan (19 Nov 2020). "'Blue Hearts' Bob Mould". The Morning Call. p. O2.
- "Bob Mould Blue Hearts Merge". The Sunday Times. Culture. 27 Sep 2020. p. 22.