Husker Du- "Candy Apple Grey"

Husker Du
"Candy Apple Grey"
Warner Brother Records
1986


The first Husker Du major label (gasp) album is not much of a major label debut at all. "Candy Apple Grey" was their first album on Warner Brothers, right on the heels of the undeniably strong "Flip Your Wig." With wider distribution, extra money at their hands, and access to boatloads of champagne and designer drugs, one would think a logical move would be to piss the past away and start over somewhat fresher, glossier, and more accessible to Mr. and Mrs. Mom and Dad America. However, Husker Du gives the proverbial finger to John Q. Record-buying Public and put out, perhaps, a harsher version of "Flip Your Wig."

The only difference between "Flip Your Wig" and this, is that "Candy Apple Grey" just isn't as good. It's a shame, because their hearts were still in the right place, still churning out some seething pop-punk. However, for the first time, the songs began to sound like, well, songs. Not that "Flip Your Wig" was a concept or wholly unified, but "Candy Apple Grey" just feels boring in spots. Just a bunch 'o new tunes. Wee-whamm.

Mould's compositions are primarily strong on this one. "Eiffel Tower High," "I Don't Know For Sure," and "Crystal" (perhaps the most cacophonous anti-pop track to ever lead off a "pop" marketed major label debut). Hart's top notch efforts on this include "Dead Set on Destruction," a lazy pop-rocker that's almost borderline lame. "Sorry Somehow," is also a fantastic Hart penned track, that features a This-Years-Model-Costelloian organ that I'm still on the fence with. In short, Bob Mould rules. And Grant Hart's kind of cool.

As if to induce nightmares, "Too Far Down," starts off with what sounds like "The Baby Song" redux. Instead the song unfolds into a Mould acoustic composition that sounds like something an over-weight 30 something in a faded gas-station hat, that was purchased at Old Navy, might be strumming at a dimly lit, 4 people full cafe on a Tuesday night in middle America. Phewww. Get all that? "Hardly Getting Over It," is another acoustic number that starts out pretty cool and then DOESN'T FUCKING END. I think the song is still faintly playing in a radiation band around the 3rd ring of Saturn as you read. Oh yea, it's a long song and I'm beginning to sweat.

As if trying to win a bet, the band's production on the album someone how out craps "Flip Your Wig," and arguably "Zen Arcade" in terms of toilet quality. Grant Hart still seems hellbent on pumping up that endless reverb on his snare drum (an aural time capsule so listeners in the future won't forget this was recorded in the 80's), and Mould's guitar is far to empty and trebbly. This may attribute to some of "Candy Apple Grey's" uniformity in places.

MTV stars they were not. Platinum bound? No. "Candy Apple Grey" is an enigmatic major label debut from a band that didn't stand a chance in the bigs, at a time when "punk" was destined to die in the world where record sales matter. Oh wait. What's that noise? Oh, it's "Hardly Getting Over It" still looping faintly, somewhere in the distance of time and space. Excuse me while I kill myself.

7/10