Sugar "File Under: Easy Listening"
FORMAT | LP
File Under: Easy Listening a/k/a F.U.E.L. -- the third and final album by this short-lived but brilliant trio -- was originally released in September 1994, featuring songs such as “Your Favorite Thing” that endure as mainstays of Mould’s solo performances to this day.
Mac McCaughan of Superchunk & Merge wrote of the reissues: When word went around that Bob Mould had a new band, not only a "band" band (as opposed to hired band to play his solo albums on tour) but also a trio, of course anyone raised from teenhood on punk rock and Hüsker Dü in particular (like myself) went into high expectation mode. Copper Blue turned out to be a distillation of Bob's pop mode and roaring guitar mode into one tightly wound explosion of sound. There was space enough for the songs to breathe, but a driving urgency & energy in the rhythm section of Barbe & Travis that gives the whole album a barely-harnessed feel. Sonically, on songs like "The Act We Act" (Copper Blue), "JC Auto" (Beaster) & "Gee Angel" (F.U.E.L.) Sugar took Hüsker Dü's aesthetic widescreen, the center held steady by Bob's focused songwriting. It's kind of incredible what Sugar did within such a small discography; there's no wasted space and the flow of great songs is a surprising, exciting listen 20 years later.
