Customer Reviews

Nova Mob

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I cannot believe that I'm the first person reviewing this disc. I bought it in 1994 the second I heard it. "Please Don't Ask" is pure Husker Du, only more so. Every Huskers fan is searching for the perfect balance of the big three components...songwriting, attitude, and noise(for lack of a better term). This album has IT in spades, every track could be a classic in its own right. If your neighborhood garage band sounded one percent as good as this you'd be telling all your friends about them, but because this album came and went, so went its chance to be heard.

Don't let that continue! You'll find the work of a true believer, Grant Hart, the one person who could make you believe again.

Don't pass up this opportunity.

There arent many songs in the rock canon deserving of the oft-used label glorious --
The Whos Baba ORiley and Cheap Tricks Surrender spring immediately to my
mind when I think of glorious rock, as does Grant Harts Shes a Woman (And Now
He Is a Man) from Husker Dus *Warehouse* record. To that list I add Grants Old
Empire, the opening track on Nova Mobs apparently final record, and, IMHO, the best
song Hart has released to date (which is saying a lot-- both of his solo records make for
extremely compelling listening). From the fade-in of shimmering guitar feedback--
punctuated by that single, airy bass guitar harmonic-- to the buzzing guitars-- one cutting
an electrifying lead line through the others panning background texture ... lightning
between mountain peaks-- to the crashing wall of percussion *behind* all of it and the
stuttering bass line *beneath* all of it (save for a silk-smooth solo), the song just *rings*
throughout, peals out gloriously. Pulling it together, somewhere between the front and
the back and the bottom and the top, is Grants voice: mixed-in at least twice, once
mellow, in an unusually low register for him, with a higher harmony line (and later chorus,
when the verses repeat), so quiet its almost unnoticeable--just enough, not too much,
totally arresting.

Old Empire washes over you in waves; and at the same time it punches you in
the chest. Ive had this record for five or six years, and I still play it frequently. Glorious
rock music.

I remember ordering this CD from the local hip record store as kid. I was working at Pizza Hut, and I went to go buy it on my break. I unwrapped it, put it into the crappy li'l CD player they had laying around, and immediately broke into a smile. "Old Empire" is a heck of a way to start of a record, and songs like "Little Miss Information" showcase the twists and turns in Grant's songwriting. And yes, "Evergreen Memorial Drive" is a definite keeper: so catchy. I heard Grant has some kind of personal vendetta against this album, but it really showcases him at his zenith. Working with a real band, cowriting material (I Won't Be There) and singing beautifully, so snatch it up while you can find it. Viva Nova Mob!

Being a big Husker Du fan, I really wanted to like this album. But it wasn't long before it became a forgotten member of my music collection.

"Old Empire" is a crackling leadoff tune. It shows off the drumming of new recruit Steve Sutherland, a vast improvement over incompetent original drummer Michael Crego. It's the best thing on the album.

The rest of the album has its moments. "Little Miss Information" is catchy, although I can't listen to it without thinking about Adam Sandler's old Cajun Man character. I like "See And Feel And Know." And the two bonus songs didn't deserve to be buried anonymously at the end; they're better than quite a few of the listed songs.

In the end, though, this album did nothing to change my opinion that Bob Mould was the real ace in Husker Du and Hart was the secondary talent.