How does one get a handle on Grant Hart (QRO interview)?Can
one?He started in music over
thirty years ago as the drummer for iconic punk trio Hüsker Dü (QRO
spotlight on), and as - or even before -
the band evolved from speedcore to accomplished, even melodic punk (and being
one of the first eighties punk acts to sign to a major label), Hart became one
of the still-rare drummer/singers, eventually near-sharing singing duties with
singer/guitarist Bob Mould (QRO live review).Hart
& the Hüskers then became infamous for their break-up in 1988, with
accusations of drug abuse and creative over-control flying - or at least reportedly
flying - between Hart & Mould.His post-Hüsker career has been even more confusing, starting with the
post-break-up solo record Intolerance,
then heading his own outfit, Nova Mob, for two records - including a concept
album about the volcanic destruction of Pompeii & the NASA space program, Last
Days of Pompeii - before returning to solo
work with 1999's Good News For the Modern Man.
And then... nothing.Well, not ‘nothing’, but no new truly ‘Grant Hart’ material for the next
ten years.In that time,
million-and-one things have happened in the music world, from file-sharing
& the decline of the major label system to the rise of Williamsburg &
online music press.So how has
Hart changed in that time?Well,
this is the man who still doesn't own a cell phone or have e-mail, and his
melodic pressure hasn't gone anywhere on Hot Wax.
Two of the main hallmarks of Good News were Hart's voice and organ/synth work (an
instrument he reportedly almost chose to play over drums in the first days of
Hüsker Dü), and they're certainly back in Hot Wax.From
the first words of opener "You're the Reflection of the Moon On the Water",
it's amazing how Hart's voice hasn't aged a bit (especially when, physically,
he has... - QRO photos).The pressure and melody to that sort of jangle-pop piece is Hart's
underlying method, one that's surprising if you think of him as an iconic
figure in punk, but perhaps not so much if you view him as the drummer/singer
who brought melody to the genre.Just take the following "Barbara": on first listen, the melody
procession is really straight, but further spins bring out the real
beauty in its sweetness.
Like the rest of Hart's solo work (going back to 1989's Intolerance and singles like "2541" - QRO video),
there's brightness to Hot Wax that isn't
too cheery or nauseating, but just a slightly different view of the world. His evocative voice on "Schoolbuses Are
For Children", or the catchy up-life story to "California Zephyr" are
world-wise and experienced without being weary, unlike the million-and-one
alt-folk singer/songwriters out there today (another trend Hart thankfully
missed...).Even the finish "My
Regrets" is building and growing, like he has none.
And that's not even the finish, as Hot Wax ends with a new version of an old Hüsker song of
Hart's - a very old one, "Wheels", from their inaugural release, Everything
Falls Apart.Maybe the first thing Hart ever wrote, certainly his first
Hüsker song, converting the loud punk cry to an organ/synth press-haunt can at
first feel like heresy, but it's really a completely different song that can
stand on its own two feet. Like
Grant Hart.
Irish alt-poppers turn back the clocks on their third album to re-capture the hope, despair, and energy of their teenage years. 
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