As promised, Bob Mould’s first offering from his upcoming release, The Silver Age (9/4 on Merge Records), finds him back in the same buzzsaw pop mode as his former bands Husker Du and Sugar. And just like many of the tracks on those recently reissued Sugar albums, “The Descent” masks its doomy, downtrodden subject matter with a decidedly upbeat melody and blasted, distorted guitars front and center of the mix. Granted, this may not be a new directed, but damn, if it doesn’t sound right. (H/T The Daily Swarm)