Punk and indie icon Bob Mould has announced his next solo album, which is titled Patch the Sky. Described by the songwriter as both "the darkest" and "catchiest" of his recent run of records release through Merge Records, it hits stores on March 25.
The album follows amped-up offerings Beauty and Ruin and Silver Age, with Mould explaining that while "it would have seemed logical to go the punk rock route... that wasn't where my soul was at." Instead, he's apparently put together a record mixing "bright melodies and dark stories."
"I withdrew from everyday life. I wrote alone for six months," he explained of the record's genesis. "I love people, but I needed my solitude. The search for my own truth kept me alive. These songs are my salvation."
While written in solitude, Mould is backed on the record by longtime drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats) and bassist Jason Narducy (Split Single).
Adding that he's faced "a solid stretch of hard emotional times," Mould noted that the album's themes include "death, relationships ending, life getting shorter." The first side of the LP is described as "simple and catchy," the back-half of the record is "heavier in spirit and tone."
A tracklisting has yet to be made available, but you can pre-order the set over here.
In related news, Mould shot down suspicions of a possible reunion of his old punk band, Hüsker Dü. While an official merch store appeared online semi-recently, an interview with Stereogum had him noting that he and the other ex-members are doing their own thing.
Summing it up more concisely, he confirmed: "Nah, no reunion."
The album follows amped-up offerings Beauty and Ruin and Silver Age, with Mould explaining that while "it would have seemed logical to go the punk rock route... that wasn't where my soul was at." Instead, he's apparently put together a record mixing "bright melodies and dark stories."
"I withdrew from everyday life. I wrote alone for six months," he explained of the record's genesis. "I love people, but I needed my solitude. The search for my own truth kept me alive. These songs are my salvation."
While written in solitude, Mould is backed on the record by longtime drummer Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Mountain Goats) and bassist Jason Narducy (Split Single).
Adding that he's faced "a solid stretch of hard emotional times," Mould noted that the album's themes include "death, relationships ending, life getting shorter." The first side of the LP is described as "simple and catchy," the back-half of the record is "heavier in spirit and tone."
A tracklisting has yet to be made available, but you can pre-order the set over here.
In related news, Mould shot down suspicions of a possible reunion of his old punk band, Hüsker Dü. While an official merch store appeared online semi-recently, an interview with Stereogum had him noting that he and the other ex-members are doing their own thing.
Summing it up more concisely, he confirmed: "Nah, no reunion."