Bob Mould - District Line

(Beggar’s Banquet)

ROCK

Mould is rightly regarded as a legend for his work in seminal hardcore outfit Hüsker Dü, and the bristling grunge-pop of Sugar, but his solo outings have been hit and miss. District Line is no different, showing glimpses of the songwriting which made his bands so thrilling, but it also contains swathes of average fare. The worst offenders are the lacklustre opener ‘Stupid Now’ and the ill-judged foray into beats, ‘Shelter Me’, which sounds like a Death Cab cast-off. Those blips aside, there are solid riffs and heartfelt words scattered around, but it’s a pale imitation of Mould’s undoubted career highs. (Doug Johnstone)