For almost 30 years, Bob Mould has been an alt-rock fixture, from his groundbreaking work in Hüsker Dü. But whether he's been bored, distracted or simply out of steam, Mould hasn't really released an album of merit in half those 30 years. Some will hail Mould's seventh album District Line as a return to form, while others will dismiss it as another ho-hum effort at best. In truth, it's closer to the former. "Growing old, it's hard to be an angry young man," Mould whispers in "Return to Dust," and admittedly Mould sounds like he's working his ass off to recapture that spark. Indeed, compared to all the countless young copycat bands living off Mould's legacy, songs like "Stupid Now," "The Silence Between Us" and the acoustic R.E.M.-ish "Walls in Time" underscore the often overlooked importance of actual songs.

-- Joshua Klein