Bob Mould has been spewing guitar- based bile for nearly two decades. Along with fellow Minnesota natives, the Replacements, and other mid-'80s progressives like R.E.M., Mould's Husker Du laid the foundation for almost everything worth $12.99 plus tax right now. But unlike Mould's pioneering contemporaries Paul Westerberg and Michael Stipe, Mould has consistently charmed critics and fans alike, churning out album after album of melodic distortion and heartfelt tales of bitterness and loss. Like a sort of twisted Olympics, you could mark the passage of years with the release of the new Bob Mould rocker; first with Husker Du, then Sugar, and with a handful of interspersed solo albums. Until now.

According to the interview disc included on his latest collection of rage and pain, The Last Dog and Pony Show, Mould is checking out of the feedback business, leaving the mosh pits for a softer sound more in tune with his 37 years. But as the title suggests, Mould does not go gently into that quiet night. Aided by his old friends the electric guitar and the distortion pedal, Mould struts his proven talents, packing the album full of what we've come to expect from him. "New #1" and "Along the Way" are read right out of Workbook, while "Moving Trucks," "Classifieds," and "Vaporub" are Mould at his Sugar-y best. Bitter beasters like "Taking Everything", "Who Was Around?" and "Skintrade" are solo Mould staples, and "Sweet Serene" will Flip Your Wig (if you will). But The Last Dog and Pony Show does have some surprises: "First Drag of the Day" marks one of the first times in recent memory that Mould has incorporated tape loops, and "Megamanic" is almost full- fledged trip-hop.

Over the last nineteen years, Bob Mould has done about all that can be done with punk rock, grunge, and pop music in general. He's walked an incredibly precarious path, remaining stylistically consistent without ever going stale. So it's probably a good thing that he moves on and stays vital. But when Mould finally unplugs his guitar and pulls up a stool, alternative rock will lose its standard bearer and we'll all long for albums like The Last Dog and Pony Show.

-Neil Lieberman