Grant Hart

As drummer and one half of the song-writing duo behind seminal eighties U.S rockers Hüsker Dü, Grant Hart had an uncanny knack for pop melodies wrapped in raw guitars. His latest live incarnation, touring his new, William S. Burroughs-inspired concept album The Argument, focused more on the ’raw’ than his songs’ signature lush veneer with mixed results. Though the new record sometimes sparkled, too often vocals drifted from Dylanesque characterful emotion into, well, a drummer singing badly. Despite the brutal mix highlighting a flawed performance, Hart’s back catalogue still offered plenty of quality, though, eventually winning over an initially indifferent crowd.

The Hope, 29 October 2013
Rating:
Nick Aldwinckle