CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After what he calls a “quiet” 18 months, Bob Mould is making some noise again.
The Husker Du and Sugar frontman, and a solo force since 1989 -- has put out plenty of music during the past year. That includes his 15th solo album, “Blue Hearts,” as well as a trio of box sets, all titled “Distortion,” spotlighting his career after the dissolution of Husker Du in 1988
Mould, 60, has also returned to the road, in a couple for formats. Earlier in the fall he toured with his trio, and now he’s out solo but hardly unplugged. It’s Mould and his electric guitar playing career-spanning sets with, of course, some emphasis on his recent material. He’s also headed to Europe at the beginning of 2022 and is happy to be back in active duty -- with more to come, he promises...
You’ve toured with the band, now you’re solo. What are the differences for you, besides the obvious?
Mould: Well, the band tour is the power trio punk rock show. It’s so thrilling that I’m still working with Jon (Wurster, drums) and Jason (Narducy, bass). I think one of the keys to the success of the three of us is those guys have other projects, I have other things in my life. When we get together it’s to celebrate and have fun as opposed to most bands who get together and most days grouse about rehearsal time and things like that. We’re not a 24-7 band, so it’s a real joy whenever we’re together.
And on your own?
Mould: The solo tours are a chance for me to mess with my set list a little more. It’s a chance for me to try out ideas on the spot. I’m in a rental car by myself all day, and when I get to soundcheck I can ramp up and start working on stuff there. I’ve got that hour soundcheck that takes me about 10 minutes to get the sound right, then I’ve got another 45 minutes to just mess around and play music in an empty room and try out ideas I might not have time to work on in other situations.
So it’s an incubator of sorts.
Mould: I hope so, yeah. When I go back to 1991, in between “Black Sheets of Rain” and Sugar’s “Copper Blue,” I was out all year doing solo shows, and it was so great, and I got so much music out of it. I’m sort of hoping to capture that back in a bottle again this time with some of the solo stuff.
How good does it feel to be playing live again?
Mould: It’s been really weird not having my normal job for a year and a half. We’re all champing at the bit because it’s been a year since “Blue Hearts” came out, and I thought it was a very timely record, the concept and lyrics back then. But sonically it’s so built for the stage, and that was really frustrating that we weren’t able to take it out at the time. It’s a punk rock record that’s meant to be played (live), so at least now we’re going to be able to take it out.
“Blue Hearts” does reflect the loud side of Bob Mould, which a great many of your fans like best. Was it easy to fall back into?
Mould: Oh, yeah, that’s something that’s always been available to me, at any time, the bombast and brevity of the songs, the distortion. Except for a few moments when I was doing electronic stuff, that’s been a constant in different degrees. But when I start writing more in a political vein it’s really easy to tap into that high-energy, angry kind of vibe. It’s not a stretch for me.
You mention the album’s timeliness, and topicality. Is it frustrating that the songs are still as resonant now as when you wrote and recorded them?
Mould: My objective was to speak my mind, to have my voice heard -- that voice that I either tempered or held inside during the ‘80s when I should’ve been saying more. Unfortunately, it IS still timely. I wish I could’ve said all those things and the election could have happened and we could’ve peacefully moved on to these four years that were supposed to be about rebuilding and healing the country. That hasn’t really happened, has it?
At the same time you’ve been reliving the past with the “Distortion” box sets. What’s it been like having your life flash before your ears again?
Mould: (laughs) That was Demon Records in the U.K. I had done a Sugar box set in 2012, and they’ve been great to work with. Five years ago, they brought the idea of what became “Distortion” to me, and I thought it was a little soon. When we did finally pick a date, there was sort of a structure for it. I was a little nervous about putting out a big retrospective and focusing on the past more than the present. It was a little taxing, but I love having all these records together in one place, and I also love having the current record to make the point that I’m still active and ongoing. They complement each other.
“Distortion” also shines a light on your electronic recordings during the early 2000s, after you moved to New York and came out. The music caught a lot of people by surprise. How do you related to it now?
Mould: Y’know, I really enjoyed going back and listening to those records. Those records took a little bit of a beating, but now I listen and it’s like, “Wow, these aren’t actually that bad” -- especially 20 years away, when I see how pop started to integrate those electronic elements. Now they’re so persistent in pop music, it made me feel good, like, wow, maybe I was in outer space by myself for little while there, but a lot of those ideas are so baked into pop music now, so I must’ve been on to something, right? I was in a different environment, writing from an entirely different place. Yeah, it definitely feels like a different guy, but looking back it seems like a really important time.
Is there anything more in the Husker Due vaults that might see the light of day at some point?
Mould: There was talk of more reissues around my catalog, and I was like, “No, no more reissues of reissues. We’ve gotta stop.” I think the “Savage Young Du” box set (in 2017) was pretty comprehensive, and, personally, I think anything past that would superfluous. It really did clean out the top rack of the closet; Everybody put the effort into making sure we got everything that was of value. So, I think all the good stuff is out there. There’s no other studio stuff I know of. It’s down to live tapes, and I think most of those are out there already, the worthwhile ones, at least.
Did you do much in the way of new writing or recording since “Blue Hearts?”
Mould: I wish I could say I have two albums in my pocket, but that’s not the case. I’ve been keeping a lot of notes, been making some music, but honestly it feels like the pause button is still on for me. It’s weird; I’ve gotten so used to having this cycle in my life of touring a record and then taking a break, compiling all my notes and ideas and then sitting down for those months getting things focused to record a record and then whole cycle of setting it up. I feel like I’ve done some work, but I still feel like, no, I want to get out and tour and then resume my normal cycle. But I’m confident there will be tons of new music.
Bob Mould performs solo electric at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 at Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. $30 and up. 330-677-5005 or kentstage.org.
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