During Bob Mould's coming-of-rage in the mid-to-late Eighties – when he was the tormented guitarist and frontman for the seminal thrash-rock band Hüsker Dü – he masterfully mixed atom-smashing guitar fury and savvy popcraft. But after the airy melodies and moody atmospherics on Workbook, his pared-down 1989 solo debut, Mould reprised the Hüskers' tumultuous roar on Black Sheets of Rain – in which his melodic gifts were nearly buried in a howling squall of overamped guitars. On this debut by Sugar – a visceral power trio featuring former Mercyland bassist David Barbe and ex-Zulu Malcolm Travis on drums – Mould once again creates brisk power-pop contexts for his eloquent grunge and careening, stacked-guitar collisions.

Mould's propulsive acoustic strumming lends "If I Can't Change Your Mind" a British Invasion buoyancy, and the playfully Beatlesque "Hoover Dam" employs a backward drum track, synthesized strings and a cheesily baroque harpsichord sample in a wry tribute to Sgt. Pepper's orchestral-pop grandeur. But although the snappy tempos on Copper Blue suggest that Mould has seen a little light, the lyrics reveal that he can still slip into darkness. "Slick" details the harrowing imagery of a tragic auto crash, while "Helpless" indicates that Mould is resigned to the inevitability of human transgression. And fueled by Mould's chiming guitars, Barbe's ominous bass line and Travis's locomotive drumming, "A Good Idea" describes a Southern-white-trash scenario that ends in death by drowning.

Mould the songwriter has always been a soul in conflict for whom the unleashing of clamorous guitars and primordial rhythms is an act of catharsis, even transcendence. Judging from the evidence on Copper Blue, he has once again beaten back his demons. (RS 642)

KEVIN RANSOM