Bob Mould Workbook

"All those things I've done before," Bob Mould sings, dismissing Hüsker Dü, the band he toiled with for most of the '80s, "it doesn't matter anymore." That's partially true--Hüsker were always much more brutal than "See a Little Light," the wistful, catchy pop song on Mould's 1989 solo debut. But even Mould's most introspective previous songs didn't have quite the scab-opening quality of "Lonely Afternoon" and "Wishing Well." Though Mould's guitar and Anton Fier's drums made Workbook seem heavy at the time, today it doesn't have quite the punch of Hüsker Dü or his beefed-up trio recordings with Sugar. --Steve Knopper