Hüsker Dü - New Day Rising | 1985

Hüsker Dü were a band from Minneapolis, USA who released eight albums between 1982 and 1994. They first started of as a hardcore punk band but gradually edged towards a powerful speedy kind of alternative rock.


In 1984 and 1985, they released three albums which progressively moved them from their sound of the past to the newer sound they would adopt. 1984s, Zen Arcade, often considered their masterpiece, took their early hardcore punk sound to that of a post-hardcore style. The follow up, New Day Rising, completely plays on the post-hardcore sound without completely abandoning the pure hardcore of the past. Last but not least, Flip Your Wig, on which the hardcore sound is ditched and is replaced by an alternative rock which blends perfectly with the post-hardcore melodies.

Melodies is the key word when it comes to Hüsker Dü and New Day Rising is full of them. The strange thing with this band is their ability to harmonize, raw and dirty feedback with pop harmonies. Each song has you nodding your head or singing away in spite of it being rather filthy. Bob Mould’s fast guitar licks, Greg Norton’s pounding bass-lines and Grant Hart’s thundering drums all blend together with perfection and an unusual harmony. Every song on the record is just as catchy as the one before and, in my opinion, it’s this catchiness that sets New Day Rising as the greatest record of the band.

If you are a fan of the grunge scene and late 80s and early 90s alt. rock movement then this album is a must as it set many of the foundations upon which these genres were built. The band seems to be getting more and more recognition as time goes on and people actually realise the impact they had over their short lived career.


F. Declercq 23/05/12

Label: SST

Grooveshark

Tracklist

1. New Day Rising

2. The Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill

3. I Apologize

4. Folk Lore

5. If I Told You

6. Celebrated Summer

7. Perfect Example

8. Terms of Psychic Warfare

9. 59 Times the Pain

10. Powerline

11. Books About UFOs

12. I Don't Know What You're Talking About

13. How to Skin a Cat

14. Whatcha Drinkin

15. Plans I Make