Warehouse: Songs and Stories

I've heard music nerds rave about this band for years, and when I finally get around to hearing one of Hüsker Dü's albums, this is what the nosebleeding is all about? The fuck is wrong with you guys?

Husker Du are an interesting prospect, oft mentioned by artists I really like, but not sure I’ve ever listened to them (or if I’d forgotten Bob Mould was a member). They are even referenced in one of my favourite songs (29x the pain by the Wildhearts), but a lot of this just feels like something’s missing and i cant quite put my finger on what.

I can definitely heat the influence ‘Ice Col Ice’ had on the Wildhearts’ ’Nothing changes but the shoes’ and also somehow sounds like early R.E.M.

The R.E.M comparison is also present in ‘Bed of nails ’ and ‘Tell you why tomorrow’ which unsurprisingly I really enjoyed.

First few songs, I'm thinking "I really like this, it's definitely on for a 4, maybe even a 5!". I'm hearing bits that remind me of lots of bands I love (Terrorvision, REM, Soul Asylum etc) and all is going well.

But it just carried on... and on.... and on....

It was two similar over too long a period of time. I think a shorter version of this album is a better score from me, but being over an hour long really highlights it's similarities from track to track. I still like it, don't get me wrong, but I don't love it.

3/5

They’ve really toned down their hardcore roots on this one and at times it sounds like Murmur-era REM. Overall there are a lot of good tracks here but not enough variety to sustain the run time. Zen Arcade should really have been the pick for the book.

Love Hüsker Dü but not this particular album.

This is one of the finest jangle-rock and punky proto-grunge albums I have heard. I really enjoyed it and this is after a night hosting karaoke until way late at my bar. I have a noise headache, my senses are saturated, I'm tired. Still, I'll be listening to this again. It isn't perfect but it's a strong 4.

It was alright.

This sounds like the Barenaked Ladies all made a bet with each other to see who could sound the worst

it's too long, but walmart REM is still REM. 3.5

Boring

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦: 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 never really clicked with me. At over seventy minutes, the album feels far longer than it needs to be, and I found it difficult to stay engaged from beginning to end.

My biggest issue is that Bob Mould’s guitar sound becomes surprisingly repetitive over the course of the album. While the energy rarely lets up, too many songs blur together, making it difficult for individual tracks to stand out.

I can appreciate the ambition behind the album, but for me it would have been far more effective with a shorter running time and a little more variety.

Really good energy! Wouldn’t mind a bit more melody and a tad less buzz.

The guitar is doing a lot of the work. Sounds like the bridge between 70s punk and 90s alternative. Influence-wise it's good, but there are just too many songs for me to fully appreciate it (2.5-3).

Interminable album. 3/10, rounded up because it doesn't quite belong with the 1-stars. It was just so painfully hard to care about any of these songs, even if none of them were truly bad.

Standouts: No Reservations • You Can Live at Home

This album could've been ten minutes long. It's the same jangly song 20 times over 68 minutes and I can't stand his voice.

1.5/5.0: Bad

not as good as some of their earlier work but there were some good songs on here. this leans a lot into power pop territory and seems to be the precursor for bob moulds next band sugar.

The worst part about going away parties is they always last too long. Nobody really wants to say goodbye, so they linger and it all just gets awkward. Similarly, this album is bloated and ends up feeling like a real chore to get through. I’d be interested in the edited 1LP version, if anyone has ever bothered to suggest a tracklist for that.

Also, in my head this band is more punk rock than they are, and I'm often left a little underwhelmed by their music. That's my fault though.

It’s wild that this is their sixth album. All the songs are so good. However, there’s something about thee vocals that just doesn’t click for me. It’s frustrating because objectively this is a terrific album. But it’s just not something I’m going to listen to, it’s definitely the vocals, I can’t put my finger on why, but I don’t like them.

It's interesting. Don't know if I'm burning out slightly from this project, or what, but early on in the project, it feels like I was more likely to give albums/artists I've never heard before higher ratings (It's been over 30 days since I've given a 2 as well. So it's not like I've been getting stuff I don't like, just not been getting almost any new discovers that I would particularly like to go back to). Things really seem to be settling into a place where everything is a 3.

At this point, it's basically just artists/albums I've heard before that are getting higher than 3s, whereas artists where I'm discovering them for the first time are struggling to get higher.

That said, I'm still enjoying this album quite a bit despite the 3 I'm planning on giving it. I do prefer the Sugar album (Copper Blue) from Bob Mould over this one due to it having more melody and catchyness, and I prefer the production on that one. This one is still really good, but slightly more on the punk/abrasive side. It being over an hour long is a sticking point too.

I'll give them She Floated Away though. Wasn't expecting a straight up alt rock sea-shanty to pop up on this album. Nice change of pace for the album.

I mean it’s as catchy as any other forgettable US “Punk” , but overall a little meh

The name Hűsker Dű implies an industrial band or metal with the proliferation of umlauts… buts its just Green Day lite