New Day Rising

Husker Du

Price: $11.92

The first four seconds of this influential Minneapolis trio's fifth album pretty much set the table: drum shots like an anxious heartbeat, then a sudden wall of fuzzy, high-treble electric-guitar noise. The choruses are occasionally catchy, especially on "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill," but this is more like the intense Zen Arcade than more melodic later albums. (A rare pace change, the girl-obsessed "Books About UFOs" actually recalls Bruce Springsteen.) Bassist Greg Norton, who rarely gets mentioned in Hüsker reviews, sews together Bob Mould's power guitar, Grant Hart's head-banging beats, and general ensemble screaming. --Steve Knopper