Currently enjoying a prolific midlife resurgence, Bob Mould’s third album in just over three years is billed as the closing chapter in a loosely linked trilogy. As on Beauty & Ruin and Silver Age, the alt.rock elder statesman is working though recent traumatic events on these revved-up confessionals, including the death of his mother.
Once again, the dominant flavour is a full-throttle jingle-jangle roar rooted more in the melodic churn of Mould’s grunge-era power trio Sugar than in his Husker Du years.
Mould describes Patch The Sky as being both darker and more catchy than both its predecessors, which is arguable. It certainly contains some seismic effects-pedal anthems, invoking the gale-force guitar turbulence of Kevin Shields or J Mascis on You Say You and Lucifer And God. But heart-tugging, chord-chugging, big-chorus belters like Hold On and Pray For Rain stick well within his comfort zone, leading to an overall sameyness that becomes a little monotonous in places.
A handful of faster tracks are also reminders that while Mould’s signature sound may have helped inspire Nirvana and Pixies, it also led to pedestrian populists like Green Day. A solid addition to the canon, but not quite a classic.
