Bob Mould, 'Workbook'

The end, when it finally came about, wasn’t pretty. Husker Du’s breakup was played out in public and, to this day, Bob Mould will broadcast his distain for Grant Hart. There was no shake of hands, nod of head and “take care, make sure you keep in touch” audibly heard when the punk pioneers split.

And that explains why the stripped down, deeply introspective ‘Workbook’ has got unfinished business on its stained hands. “All these things I’ve done before”, Mould sneers, almost casually tossing away his previous band’s considerable achievements, “it doesn’t matter anymore”. Like him or loathe him, you can’t claim that Mould keeps issues bottled up and tucked away, only speaking about them in therapy. ‘Workbook’ is eleven tracks OF therapy and is a fascinating piece of work for its abject refusal to resort to the obvious.

Instead of throwing his guitars to the wall and seeing what sticks, a wide range of styles are utilized. It’s virtually folky and whimsical in nature, as proven by the cellos heard throughout. ‘See A Little Light’ would provide the perfect blueprint to R.E.M’s ‘Automatic For The People’, and Mould himself would manufacture the power pop on tracks such as ‘Lonely Afternoon’ and ‘Wishing Well’ to even more staggering effect a few years later with Sugar’s ‘Copper Blue’. But if you’re keen to see where the second phase of Mould’s career took shape, then this is an essential purchase. The passing of time has, in all likelihood, softened him but when you hear ‘Heartbreak A Stranger’ with Mould making digs on many levels, you’ll be witnessing assassination with a smile.