[Cover photo credit to James Richards IV]
Bob Mould has released The Ocean, a new EP featuring three solo acoustic live performances, via Merge Records. Originally recorded for NPR’s World Café at Mould’s Granary Music home studio in San Francisco, CA, The Ocean collects stripped back versions of “The Ocean” and “Forecast of Rain”, both first found on 2020’s critically acclaimed album, Blue Hearts. The EP also features a rendition of the Hüsker Dü classic, “Divide and Conquer” (from 1985’s Flip Your Wig).
Accompanying the EP is a new solo live performance video of “Forecast of Rain,” filmed last October at the Stoughton Opera House in Stoughton, WI during Mould’s sold out Solo Electric: Distortion & Blue Hearts! Tour .
Mould explains the significance of The Ocean to him:
“One of my special places is Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Over the past twelve years, I’ve spent many early mornings walking the shoreline. There’s very few people at dawn: fishers, joggers with dogs, surfers. Depending on the tide cycle, the beach takes on different appearances – sandy sheets of reflective glass, ever-shifting playground for Snowy Plovers and other birds, ocean matter washed up on the shore. I think clearly when walking through the mixture of salt, sand, wind and water. The beach beneath my feet, waves as far as the eye can see, the twinkling night sky giving way to colorful morning light. The constant din of the waves does wonders for my tinnitus. It’s a grounding, soothing, calming feeling – a place to rest. And, there’s always the undertow — that chance of ending up in deeper waters. ‘The Ocean’ is my homage to those visions, senses, and emotions.”
Mould will mark the arrival of The Ocean with a very busy live schedule, including full band performances and both new and rescheduled dates on the ongoing Solo Electric: Distortion & Blue Hearts! Tour. North American dates begin March 30th in Ventura, CA, followed in June by a solo tour of the UK and Ireland. More dates will be added in the future. For complete details, visit bobmould.com/tour.
