Last Days of Pompeii

After the less-than-friendly break-up of Hüsker Dü, both Grant Hart and Bob Mould released solo work which was considerably different than their work together. Hart's 1989 effort, Intolerance, is a sweeping carnivalesque work that is a logical extension of his work with Hüsker Dü. The Last Days of Pompeii still sounds like Hart, but it is a larger work -- a narrative of sorts with allusions to Pompeii and Nazi Germany. The story flows well, and almost everything on the album borders on brilliance. The bright rockers "Admiral of the Sea," "Wernher Von Braun," and "Over My Head," are the best work this band has ever done to date. The album is not without its experimental side, however; "Space Jazz" a spiraling, noisy, spoken-word track, is a strange break from the narrative, but it flows well into the poppy "Where You Gonna Land." This record is an important addition to the collection of any Hüsker Dü fan. ~ Chris True