Album: New Day Rising
Artist: Hüsker Dü
Release Date: January 1985
Genre: Punk Rock
Length: 0:40:49
Label: SST Records
Producer: Hüsker Dü/Spot
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2012): #488
Rolling Stone Top 500 (2020): #428
Now I want to crowd surf, head bang, and give myself whiplash...
Despite the name of the band, Hüsker Dü is actually an American group founded in Minnesota. Bob Mould (lead vocals/guitar), Greg Norton (backing vocals/bass), and Grant Hart (backing vocals/drums) released New Day Rising shortly after the release of their second album. The group wanted to produce the album themselves, however, the label, SST Records, wanted their main producer Spot to produce the album. Because of the disagreement, Hüsker Dü created New Day Rising on its own. The album is highly underrated as it only peaked at #10 on the UK Indie Chart in 1985.
The moment Hart starts pounding away on the drum set in the opening, album-title song "New Day Rising", the listener instantly gets pulled into the energy that Hüsker Dü strives for throughout the album. This intensity could be based on the early punk rock sound of the 80s, the strained relationship with their label and producer, or other internal issues, but whatever it ultimately was makes each song authentic. Although the first track doesn't have the most profound lyrics, the following song "Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill" brings a sense of storytelling that was otherwise forgotten in punk albums up to this point. Unfortunately it is slightly difficult to understand the lyrics due to Mould's vocal performance.
Each song brings a different, yet warranted sound that keeps each song intriguing to listen to: the instrument break in "Celebrated Summer", the surf punk sound of "Terms Of Psychic Warfare", the punk-like swing of "Books About UFOs". The differences in feel from each song to the next makes New Day Rising a refreshing listen while still keeping the natural punk sound. Some songs however, do give an overwhelming amount of distortion that makes this album somewhat hard to listen to for extended periods of time unless you're at a biker club.
As the album continues, you start to hear how different Hüsker Dü sounds compared to their counterpart punk bands of the 70s and 80s. Utilizing beautiful vocal harmonies, melodic yet smokey guitar riffs, a focus on the bass at the forefront, dynamic drum parts and great storytelling, New Day Rising was surely an inspiration for a myriad of pop punk artists during the late 90s/early 2000s such as Green Day and Social Distortion.
I love punk as a genre, however, I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of punk albums that fall into the trap where every song sounds quite similar. When any album, let alone a punk album, has the ability to keep each song captivating, it's very alluring to me. It's very easy for a band to get caught in a formula set forth by bands like the Sex Pistols or the Ramones. I'm not saying these are bad bands (in fact they are some of my favorite artists) but they were punk pioneers that found success because they had a fresh new sound at the time and they perfected it and carried it throughout most songs and albums. The fact Hüsker Dü was able to take the genre, make it more melodic and less about playing fast and angry in New Day Rising is impressive.
Even though the album does have a fresh take on the genre, it is still notoriously punk. I would recommend this album to anyone that loved the pop punk movement during the early 2000s and is interested in where some of those bands grabbed their inspiration from. Some songs are undeniably intense, and I know that may turn off some potential listeners, but I think if you were to listen to the full album (heck, what have you to lose, it's only 40 minutes), you may surprise yourself...
Favorite Songs: "Celebrated Summer", "Terms of Psychic Warfare","I Don't Know What You're Talking About"
Least Favorite Songs: "How to Skin A Cat", "Plans I Make"
Production Quality:
Mix = 6/10 (some parts have an overwhelming amount of distortion
Innovation = 10/10
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 8/10
Lyricism = 9/10 (surprisingly complex lyrics for a punk album)
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 6/10 (some songs Mould sounds great, other songs he sounds terrible)
Instrumental Timbre = 7/10 (distortion on the guitar blasts your eardrums in some spots)
Group Chemistry = 9/10
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 8.5/10
Overall Rating: 8/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!
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