Bob Mould, Modulate

It’s no longer surprising to see rock’s most strident singer-songwriters seduced by the siren ProTools. Nor is it anything new to hear erstwhile guitar gods discovering the joys of the synthesizer (even Eddie Van Halen had a soft spot for that Vangelis flavor) or diving headlong into largely electronic sonic experiments. Still, there’s something unnerving about the opening minutes of Bob Mould’s new solo disc, his first since 1998’s The Last Dog & Pony Show. The digi-pop ditty “180 Rain” opens with a few bars of musical telemetry before the plaintive post-punker’s voice slides in from somewhere off in the ether. The absence of guitars is suspicous enough for starters, but when his vocal steps up into a Vocoder-treated refrain—we swear it’s like Cher’s “Believe” or Kid Rock’s “Only God Knows”—it begs the question: Has Bob lost his freaking mind? The lyrics and linear pop arrangements are definitely more Pet Shop Boys than Autechre though he does achieve some beautifully tweaked textures, especially on the instrumental “Without?” and “Homecoming Parade.” There are plenty of guitars, melodic hooks, and satisfying Mould-school anthemics elsewhere on the album, but anyone still tethered to a bygone Hüsker heyday had better find a sturdy chair. The rumors that the former Sugar daddy has been writing scripts for pro wrestling are true, by the way, but we guarantee you won’t hear anything off Modulate on this week’s episode of SmackDown.