If I Can't Change Your Mind Then No One Will: Bob Mould and Sugar

As I was writing my Hüsker Dü entry, I could tell that it was going to be an excruciatingly long post if I wrote about them as well as Bob Mould's later work in the same entry. As a result, I decided to split it in two: this time around, I will be writing about Bob Mould's '90s band, Sugar, as well as his solo career. While I would write about Grant Hart's work as a companion piece, not only does he not have as prolific a career as Mould, but I only own a copy of his first solo album, Intolerance.

When I was first introduced to Hüsker Dü, I was not particularly impressed. Granted, the only albums I had access to at the time were their latter day albums, Candy Apple Grey and Warehouse: Songs and Stories, which are not considered their prime. Instead, I slowly got into their work through Sugar. I remember the first song I really liked by them was "Helpless" off of Copper Blue. I then grew to like "If I Can't Change Your Mind" as well as "Gee Angel" from their second album, File Under: Easy Listening. Then, on my 16th birthday, I got a copy of Copper Blue on CD and loved it. That following April was when I bought Hüsker Dü's Flip Your Wig and New Day Rising. While Husker Du was always the group people acclaimed, I always held Sugar in a special regard, probably because it was what got me into Bob Mould's material in the first place. Unfortunately, the group didn't last long, but even then, their weaker works are still pretty enjoyable.

For the longest time, I had an aversion to solo albums. I don't know why. I guess I expected that when a member of a band I liked made a solo album, it was going to intentionally break away and forge a different sound. However, when I got into Bob Mould's solo material, I was delighted to find the music is more or less built off of the same sound he crafted when in Hüsker Dü, only with more experience and refinement. This consistency translates also in quality as well. As I listen to Bob Mould's various solo albums, even some of his more experimental albums, there is a consistency to his work. While Mould would play with certain elements such as acoustics or electronic sounds, his songs are still Bob Mould songs. This is especially evident as I was listening to his new album, Patch the Sky, which fits right in with his previous two albums, Silver Age and Beauty and Ruin, as well as others such as Body of Song or The Last Dog and Pony Show.

Bob Mould would begin his post-Hüsker Dü career with his first two solo albums. Upon work for his third solo album, he began to gel better with two new instrumentalists, David Barbe and Malcolm Travis and the project went from a solo act with backing instrumentalists to a full fledged band. After a couple years, the group disbanded and Mould made his third solo album by himself. After this, he made one more album in the mid-late 90s which would serve as a swan song for his guitar heavy rock. During this hiatus, Mould took this time to embrace electronic music. By the early 2000s, this interest heavily influenced his 2002 album, Modulate, which polarizes fans to this day. After Modulate, Mould eased up on the electronic influences on his two following albums and brought back the predominant guitar sounds he was known for. By the 2010s, Mould's music had reverted back to the guitar heavy pop rock in the vein of Sugar and Hüsker Dü.

Going over his entire discography, I can say Bob Mould is probably one of the key reasons I got through high school. Throughout his career, he was able to craft beautiful, soaring melodies that I loved and came to associate them with several high points from my teenage years. It's a shame a lot of people don't recognize him or his music, even when he has been recognized by several big name people and publications for years.

 Breakdown of My Discography

Sugar

1. Copper Blue (1992, CD, Cassette) - This was my first CD by any of Bob Mould's projects and I still think of it as one of his best. When people look at Bob Mould's overall work, this album frequently comes up as one of his greatest achievements, up there with Workbook, New Day Rising, Flip Your Wig and Zen Arcade. In fact, to me, this album has Mould perfecting the sound he was developing when Husker Du was at their peak, mixing in the right amount of guitar heavy rock with infectious pop melodies, with a strong backing band to fill out the songs. I have fond memories of listening to it while my friends and I played Halo: Reach online back in high school. While that may be an odd association, it goes to show those were two of the most notable elements I can remember about my sophomore and junior years of high school. I don't listen to this album a whole lot anymore, just because Bob Mould has such a prolific career, but whenever I come back to this one, I always remember why I love it.
Highlights: "Changes", "Helpless", "If I Can't Change Your Mind", "Fortune Teller"

2. Beaster EP (1993, CD) - This EP was recorded at the same time as Copper Blue, but released separately because the material on it had much darker feel. This can be heard in several places, such as the tense punk intro to "Tilted", the organ based "Walking Away", as well as the darker, Biblical lyricism. However, Mould's characteristic melodies still shine through and make this a neat companion to Copper Blue.
Highlights: "Tilted", "Feeling Better"

3. File Under: Easy Listening (1994, CD) - The second and final full-length studio album by Sugar, the album has some good cuts, but most people think it falls short when compared to its predecessors. As I look back at this album, I find there are several songs that I had forgotten about, but loved once I heard them again. However, I would go for Copper Blue first.
Highlights: "Gift", "Gee Angel", "Your Favorite Thing", Believe What You're Saying"

4. Besides (1995, CD) - As the name implies, this is a compilation of various b-sides, outtakes and live tracks the band did in its short existence. To me, the highlights are obviously the ones that were cuts recorded during the Copper Blue and FU:EL sessions, but it is also interesting to hear some of the contributions bassist David Barbe made that didn't make the albums.
Highlights: "Needle Hits E", "Mind is an Island", "Going Home", "And You Tell Me"

Overall, Sugar was a fruitful, albeit short endeavor Mould took in the nineties, that while it contributed songs that are still in his setlist today, was really something of a detour in his solo career, which makes up the most of his post-Hüsker Dü output.

Solo Albums

1. Workbook (1989, CD, Vinyl) - Bob Mould's first album after Hüsker Dü's implosion was one of reinvention and is still one of, if not the best, of his solo albums. He hid away in a farmhouse up in New York where he began writing material with a much more somber, stripped down approach. The album relies much more on acoustic instruments, with very little of the loud guitar that defined his work in Hüsker Dü. For whatever reason, I avoided this album. I didn't want to hear folk influenced music. I wanted to hear songs like "Makes No Sense At All", but when I started to sit down and listen to it, I realized this has some of his strongest material, no matter what musical lens it is played through. Since then I have come to love this album. I highly recommend it.

Highlights: "Wishing Well", "See A Little Light", "Compositions for the Young and Old", "Poison Years", "Lonely Afternoon"

2. Black Sheets of Rain (1990, CD) - After the more mellow, folk inspired work of Workbook, Mould returns to the loud guitar work of his earlier material. I don't listen to this album much, but it's not bad by any means. It's certainly angrier and more cathartic than Workbook, but it doesn't have as many songs that stand out to me.

Highlights: "Stop Your Crying", "It's Too Late", "Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace"

3. Bob Mould (1996, CD) - Once Sugar dissolved, Bob Mould took a step back from the concept of working with a band for his music and instead made this album by himself with a four track tape recorder and a drum machine, giving it a distinct sound among his albums. I'm conflicted on this one. It has several very good songs that I could consider some of his highlights, but there are others that are among my least favorite out of his entire discography. When I bought this album, I actually ordered a used copy and the version I got included a maxi-single for the song "Egoverride" as well, which was neat.

Highlight: "Anymore Time Between", "Fort Knox, King Solomon", "The Next Time That You Leave", "I Hate Alternative Rock", "Egoverride", "Art Crisis", "Deep Karma Canyon", "Roll Over and Die"

4. Egoverride Single (1996, CD) - This came with the self-titled album and has some interesting songs that were left off of the album. It's not essential, but it is a neat listen.

Highlights: "Egoverride", "Wanted Was"

5. The Last Dog and Pony Show (1998, CD) - When this album was coming out, Bob Mould was on the verge of a hiatus. As the title implied, this was going to be the last album and tour he did before retiring from rock music. Musically, it is not the most distinct album he has done, when you can listen to New Day Rising or Copper Blue, but it is one of my favorites for some reason. I think it's just because of some of the songs that stand out to me that make me love it so much. This album also foreshadows some of his later interests in the experimental track, "Megamaniac", which is less of a song and more of a collage of samples. My copy of this included a second disc that had an interview with Mould, which, while it is not as interesting as a single, is still a nice surprise.

Highlights: "New #1", "Moving Trucks", "Who Was Around", "Vaporub", "Skintrade", "Sweet Serene"

6. Modulate (2002, CD) - After several years, Bob Mould came back to music with Modulate, which, to this day, is by far the most polarizing album in his output. While some of the songs are still distinctly Bob Mould songs, they are played through an electronic lens, with synthesizers and samples strewn throughout the album. While many people revile this album, I actually really like it. Once you get past the strange production, the songs themselves are very strong and are frequent ones I listen to. One thing that I want to note also, is that the song, "Trade", actually has roots as a Hüsker Dü song, and I know there is a recording of them playing it live back in 1988, which I would recommend checking out if you like the album version.

Highlights: "Slay/Sway", "The Receipt", "Soundonsound", "Trade"

7. Body of Song (2005, CD) - After the overtly electronic sound of Modulate, Bob Mould begins to move back towards guitar based music on this album. However, his interest in electronic music and soundscapes are not gone and it sometimes seeps into the music. The album is not a bad album by any means, but it is one I don't spend a whole lot of time listening to.

Highlights: "Circles", "Paralyzed", "Beating Heart the Prize", "Days of Rain"

8. District Line (2008, CD) - This album basically continues the sound Bob Mould plays on Body of Song, mixing his typical sound with electronic work. I don't dislike this album, but I rarely listen to it. However, the song "Stupid Now" was the first solo song I heard by him and was what got me interested in his solo work altogether.

Highlights: "Stupid Now", "The Silence Between Us", "Miniature Parade"

9. Life and Times (2009, Digital Download) - With this album, Mould begins moving away from the electronic influences and goes back towards the sound heard on The Last Dog and Pony Show. While I tend to forget about this album, anytime I go back to it, I remember it has several good songs on it.

Highlights: "Life and Times", "Spiraling Down", "MM17", "I'm Sorry Baby, But You Can't Stand in My Light Anymore"

10. Silver Age (2012, CD, Vinyl) - Around the time this album came out, Mould's autobiography was also coming out and it was the 20th anniversary of Copper Blue. With that in mind, Bob Mould decided to go back to that sound, focusing almost entirely on thick guitar-heavy pop rock songs that one could find in Sugar's output. With bassist Jason Narducy and drummer Jon Wurster in tow, it almost feels like a spiritual successor to Sugar. This album almost seems to be the beginning of a renaissance for Mould, as his following albums continue in this vein are and are just as consistently good.

Highlights: "Star Machine", "Silver Age", "The Descent", "Angels Rearrange", "Round the City Square"

11. Beauty and Ruin (2014, CD, Vinyl) - This album basically continues the sound Mould picked back up on Silver Age. For some reason, I never really listened to this album much or at least paid much attention to it until the follow up, Patch the Sky came out. But once I did, I loved it.

Highlights: "I Don't Know You Anymore", "Nemeses are Laughing", "Forgiveness", "Hey, Mr. Grey", "Fix It"

12. Patch the Sky (2016, Vinyl) - For whatever reason, I didn't preorder this album when I heard about it, even though I did with the two previous albums. However, one night when I was at Barnes and Noble, I noticed a copy of this album, which included an autographed poster inside, and I bought it without question. I now love this album and it makes for a great trilogy with its two predecessors. Actually, I was inspired to continue writing this entry because of this album. If you find a copy, check it out.

Highlights: "The End of Things", "Hold On", "Daddy's Favorite", "Black Confetti"

My yellow vinyl copy of Beauty and Ruin

Since I first fell in love with earliest Sugar songs, Bob Mould has become my all time favorite singer songwriter. His songs have a character that is distinct to him. They can be either extremely loud and cathartic or soft and restrained and they still sound like him. That's just how much range he has. If you want straightforward, catchy rock music, you can't really go wrong with Bob Mould's material, whether it is Husker Du, Sugar or his solo stuff. That character transcends projects and shines through all of them.