| Blue Hearts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 25, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2020 | |||
| Studio | Electrical Audio, Chicago Granary Music, San Francisco | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 35:37 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Producer | Bob Mould | |||
| Bob Mould chronology | ||||
| ||||
Blue Hearts is the 14th solo album by the American alternative rock musician Bob Mould, released in 2020. [1] [2] Mould considered the tracks to be protest songs. [3]
The album peaked at No. 181 on the Billboard 200. [4]
Mould was joined on the album by drummer Jon Wurster and bassist Jason Narducy. [5] Thirteen of Blue Heart's 14 tracks are less than three minutes in length. [6] Produced by Mould, it was recorded at Electrical Audio, in Chicago. [7] [8]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Rolling Stone |  [10] |
| Winnipeg Free Press | [11] |
The New Yorker concluded that Mould "calls forth his hardest and most focussed music in years ... These tuneful guitar blitzkriegs have plenty of room for playfulness alongside the bile." [12] Rolling Stone wrote that "what makes it jaw-dropping is the precision with which Mould has focused his ire on conservatives, evangelicals, homophobes, while leaving room for some self-criticism as well." [10]
The Morning Call thought that the "blunt lyrics are matched by a furious musical assault." [13] The Winnipeg Free Press determined that "Narducy and Wurster ... are lifers and whose relentless rock ‘n’ roll groove is the perfect complement to Mould’s spiky melodicism." [11] The Sunday Times opined that the album "represents a howl of anger, its muddy production heightening the sense of gloom and claustrophobia." [14]
AllMusic deemed the album "a fast, furious, passionate broadside," writing that "the sound of Blue Hearts bears a certain resemblance to the music Mould made with Hüsker Dü in its physical power and lack of emotional compromise." [9]
All tracks are written by Bob Mould.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heart on My Sleeve" | 1:58 |
| 2. | "Next Generation" | 2:20 |
| 3. | "American Crisis" | 2:28 |
| 4. | "Fireball" | 1:39 |
| 5. | "Forecast of Rain" | 2:26 |
| 6. | "When You Left" | 2:32 |
| 7. | "Siberian Butterfly" | 2:10 |
| 8. | "Everyth!ng to You" | 2:51 |
| 9. | "Racing to the End" | 1:51 |
| 10. | "Baby Needs a Cookie" | 2:57 |
| 11. | "Little Pieces" | 2:37 |
| 12. | "Leather Dreams" | 2:53 |
| 13. | "Password to My Soul" | 2:53 |
| 14. | "The Ocean" | 3:56 |
Additional musicians
Production