The ex-junkie drummer often accused of splitting the seminal H|sker D| (artistic difference says Hart; Hart’s drug madness says D|; writing partner Bob Mould), whose subsequent band Nova Mob seemingly couldn’t release a record without the label going bust and who were nearly wiped out in a bus crash while on tour… Grant Hart and Lady Luck aren’t exactly on speaking terms.
But here comes the happy ending. Intermittently, ‘Good News…’ excels even Hart’s H|;sker heights. Opener ‘Think It Over Now’ is a shimmering Spectoresque stomp, perfectly suiting Hart’s anguished vibrato, while ‘Nobody Rides For Free’ matches hard-learned lessons to the sound of REM at their most hauntingly melodic.
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Elsewhere, the album is patchy, at times teasingly half-formed, though never anything less than captivating. But for its momentary, sublime glimpses at what Grant Hart can achieve, for its simple pop touch and hard-won wisdoms, ‘Good News…’ easily deserves an