Text by John Norris @jonnynono

"It's been a while," Bob Mould told me earlier this summer, "since I did a record that has start to finish, straight-up long guitar riffs." Mould has rectified that with Silver Age, a record that gives it the gas and hardly ever lets up. In contrast to, say, his last offering, 2009's Life and Times, which had its reflective moments, new tracks like "Fugue State", "Round the City Square", single "The Descent" and especially the blistering title track, are bruising. "A lot of the stuff got written in a fairly condensed period of time," Mould explained, "and I just hit a groove and tried to keep writing as much as possible, and keep things going."

The alt rock godfather also acknowledged that the new barn-burner serves as a "nice complement" to another album with an "elemental" title: Copper Blue, Sugar's magnum opus that is marking its 20th anniversary this year, and for which Mould is out doing shows that feature Copper Blue front to back as well as other Hüsker Dü, Sugar and Mould solo songs. We're guessing it's worth the price of admission. 

So, is Silver Age in a sense another Sugar record? "It's just that loud guitar rock thing, says Mould. "I don't know, some people have said it sounds like late-era Hüsker, and I didn't expect to hear that. It just sounds like me when I play loud and somewhat fast." 

And that is hardly a bad thing. A good year for guitar rock in indie-ish circles? I think that is clear. See: The Men, OFF!, Redd Kross, Japandroids, Nude Beach and more. And now add to that the return of an American loud/soft original, Bob Mould, with Silver Age.