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Blue Hearts (album)

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Blue Hearts
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 25, 2020 (2020-09-25)
Recorded2019–2020
StudioElectrical Audio, Chicago
Granary Music, San Francisco
GenreAlternative rock
Length35:37
LabelMerge
ProducerBob Mould
Bob Mould chronology
Sunshine Rock
(2019)
Blue Hearts
(2020)

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]

The album peaked at No. 181 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Production

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Mould was joined on the album by drummer Jon 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

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Winnipeg Free Press[11]

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

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All tracks are written by Bob Mould

No.TitleLength
1."Heart on My Sleeve"1:58
2."Next Generation"2:20
3."American Crisis"2:28
4."Fireball"1:39
5."Forecast of Rain"2:26
6."When You Left"2:32
7."Siberian Butterfly"2:10
8."Everyth!ng to You"2:51
9."Racing to the End"1:51
10."Baby Needs a Cookie"2:57
11."Little Pieces"2:37
12."Leather Dreams"2:53
13."Password to My Soul"2:53
14."The Ocean"3:56

Personnel

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Additional musicians

  • Prague TV Orchestra – strings on "American Crisis"
  • Alison Chesley; Paul Martens – orchestral score transcriptions

Production

References

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  1. ^ "Bob Mould on the Unfiltered Truth of New LP Blue Hearts". SPIN. September 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "Bob Mould Unplugs To Perform Songs From His Latest Album, 'Blue Hearts' : World Cafe Words and Music from WXPN". NPR.
  3. ^ "Bob Mould, 'Blue Hearts'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 24 Sep 2020. p. WE3.
  4. ^ "Bob Mould". Billboard.
  5. ^ Kopp, Bill (September 29, 2021). "Bob Mould Wears 'Blue Hearts' on His Sleeve". SF Weekly.
  6. ^ Horn, Mark C. "Bob Mould Has a New Album and Plenty to Say About the State of the Country". Phoenix New Times.
  7. ^ Curley, John (Nov 2020). "BOB MOULD". Goldmine. 46 (11): 23.
  8. ^ Riemenschneider, Chris (23 Sep 2020). "Bob Mould's on fire with new album". Star Tribune. p. E1.
  9. ^ a b "Blue Hearts – Bob Mould | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  10. ^ a b Grow, Kory (September 24, 2020). "Bob Mould Rages Gloriously Against Injustice on 'Blue Hearts'". Rolling Stone.
  11. ^ a b Kendle, John (26 Nov 2020). "POP / ROCK". Winnipeg Free Press. p. D2.
  12. ^ "Bob Mould Blue Hearts". The New Yorker.
  13. ^ Sculley, Alan (19 Nov 2020). "'Blue Hearts' Bob Mould". The Morning Call. p. O2.
  14. ^ "Bob Mould Blue Hearts Merge". The Sunday Times. Culture. 27 Sep 2020. p. 22.