release date: Mar. 1986
format: cd (1992 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,84]
producer: Bob Mould, Grant Hart
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 2. "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" (4 / 5) - 3. "I Don't Know for Sure" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "Sorry Somehow" (4 / 5) - 5. "Too far Down" - 6. "Hardly Getting Over It" - 7. "Dead Set on Destruction" - 8. "Eiffel Tower High" - 10. "All This I've Done for You"
5th studio album by Hüsker Dü follows the recipe of Flip Your Wig with Bob Mould and Grant Hart as producers and for the first time now they approach an equal share in the writing credits with 6 - 4 in Mould's favour. The album is the band's first on a major label, and with this they demonstrate the conflict between Mould and Hart as the songs appear as individual representations rather than the end result of their combined forces. For the first time in the band's history Hart really challenges Mould as the band's most prominent songwriter - an issue of debate, which may have led to the band's dimise only 1½ years later. On the predecessor, Mould manifested as a songwriter with an ear for melody structure and Hart locked on making something contrary, whereas Hart here proves his worth on the same arena.
The style has evolved slightly to a broader profile with clear folk rock references, especially heard on the Hart compositions (tracks #2, #4, #7, #9), but with its energetic power pop alt. rock, or college rock, it's also a clear reference to artists of the later grunge rock movement.
With Candy Apple Grey and via their new label they reach a larger crowd and they succeed in holding on to their characteristic sound while producing their best-sounding album to date. So once again, the band moves some steps up the ladder and simply launches its so far best album.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, 👍Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]
