Time and experience makes this songwriter wiser
Produced and mixed by Mould himself, Life and Times examines Mould’s past, 20 years after establishing himself as a solo artist, reflecting on his own accomplishments as well as his regrets. Reminiscing on lost love and lust, Mould impresses with his songwriting skills. In “Argos,” he explores his long gone youth with punky guitar riffs that play along to dirty lyrics (“Lead me to the Sanifair / Reach into my underwear”). And at the climax of his ninth album is “I’m Sorry, Baby, But You Can’t Stand in My Light Any More,” a better-off-without-you pop tune about a relationship gone awry and the longing and regret thereafter. This bald-headed, bearded rocker goes back to the basics in Life and Times in a way he hasn’t since 1989’s Workbook, coming full circle.