Sound Advice: Rock and Roll Lifer Bob Mould's Solo Electric Tour is Heading to Cincinnati

Bob Mould has written hundreds of songs over the last 40-plus years, beginning in the ’80s as frontman for the iconic post-punk trio Hüsker Dü, followed by the last three decades as a solo artist and a brief but stellar early ’90s run as frontman of Sugar, another dynamic power trio. The exhaustive box set Distortion: 1989-2019, released in different variants over the last few years (including one that features 24 CDs and another with eight vinyl LPs), highlights Mould’s post-Hüsker Dü output

But it’s the live setting where the 63-year-old rock and roll lifer is most at home, conveying what moves him through ferocious guitar playing and a frayed vocal delivery. Mould’s recent tours in support of Distortion draw from across his voluminous catalog, as well as tunes from his most recent record, 2020’s Blue Hearts, which is as urgent and topical as anything in the upstate New York native’s output. (For proof, check out “Heart on My Sleeve,” which tackles climate change, and “American Crisis,” a no-holds-barred take on attacks by right-wing forces on those they consider as “other.”)

The current tour is one of Mould’s solo electric outings, which means just Bob and his guitar.

“I’m excited to be back in the Northeast and Midwest, especially during peak fall colors,” Mould wrote on his website when the current tour was announced. “I’m happy to have Jason (Narducy) supporting the tour — it’s been a while since we’ve done solo shows together. I’m nervous, too: I’ve got a handful of new songs to share with you!”

If recent shows are any indication, expect a handful of Hüsker Dü classics like “Flip Your Wig,” “Makes No Sense at All” and “Something I Learned Today” sprinkled in as well. Think of it as a best of Bob show punctuated by new tunes, another intimate communal experience by a restless artist who continues to challenge both himself and his audience.

Bob Mould plays 20th Century Theater on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. Info: the20thcenturytheater.com.

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