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100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

It plays much like a continuation of "Body Of Song," with the electronic elements even more streamlined and less obtrusive, save on the all-electronic 'Shelter Me.'

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All Music Guide

It's a consolidation of Mould's considerable strengths, an album that showcases his gifts as a writer and record-maker, one that touches upon almost every phase of his career, yet it's filtered through a maturity that feels vital because of its unadorned honesty.

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Spin

District Line is essentially the same furiously melodic pop Mould played way back when. [Feb 2008, p.98]

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Mojo

District Line is Mould's strongest song collection since Sugar's alt-rock paradigm, "Copper Blue." [Mar 2008, p.102]

PopMatters

Mould comes full circle on District Line, marrying his distant acoustic past to his current path and it seems as if he has found a happy medium.

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Amazon.com

District Line, Mould's seventh solo album, is a swell follow-up to his bracing 2005 return-to-rockishness record "Body of Song."

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Billboard

District Line is a fine showcase for the differing sides of ex-Hüsker Dü/Sugar frontman Bob Mould's repertoire.

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Filter

For the most part, he sounds fresh-faced and ready to charge back into the fray.

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Boston Globe

This album is an extremely provocative effort.

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The Phoenix

The keyboards that colored his swan dive into dance music before he re-embraced rock with 2005’s Body of Song are simply another subtle layer of muscle for this sinewy disc.

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musicOMH.com

Perhaps it's fair to say that sometimes it all sounds a little too comfortable for, erm, comfort (the line "growing old, it's hard to be an angry young man" is pretty telling).

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Alternative Press

The classic Mould you've sought is (mostly) back. [Mar 2008, p.145]

Delusions of Adequacy

A solid if not completely earth-shattering act of restitution for loyal Bob-watchers

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Dusted Magazine

District Line delivers the latest dissertation in cross-pollination and like past projects it’s a bit of a Frankenstein affair.

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Rolling Stone

District Line is a focused, gripping zigzag between fury and woe, scorched rock and folk-pop distress, much like the Hüskers' best records--now with a longer view.

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Under The Radar

His latest contains some of the best guitar rock songs he's written in 15 years. [Winter 2008, p.88]

Pitchfork

It's not that it lacks tension--indeed, almost every song touches on relationship strife--it's just that the squabbles are gentle, the rage subdued.

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Uncut

It's as convincing and heartfelt as anything else here--and suggests that by incorporating disco into the rest of his music, even better things may lie ahead. [Mar 2008, p.96]

Q Magazine

This is his most pleasing solo album for a decade. [Mar 2008, p.108]

Observer Music Monthly

Though rather generic--grainy emoting; overwrought lyrics; crisp guitar-driven pop--at least Mould can claim that he virtually invented this stuff.

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The Guardian

Mould's ability with melody is much in evidence throughout District Line - there's a particularly glorious example on the closing 'Walls in Time'--though it's occasionally hard to escape the uncomfortable sensation of an artist trapped somewhere between his own urges and his audience's expectations.

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Drowned In Sound

While District Line is by no means a classic, it’s a decent addition to the catalogue of a man who could’ve lived out the rest of his days without lifting another finger

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Andrew gave it an8:
A good listen. Not edgy, but enjoyable.

[Anonymous] gave it a9:
It's a return to form for Mould and hits the highs of Sugar.

E gave it an8:
DL is not a groundbreaking, earthshattering, disc of cutting edge visceral yet intelligent and emotional rock music - not in the sense of all of Bob Mould's albums between 1983 and 1993. But like Body of Song and Last Dog and Pony Show before it, it is a solid and engaging batch of songs from one of the finest rock musicians of the past thirty years. Is it one of his best? Nah. Is it better than most everything else in mainstream rock music today? Absolutely. And "The Silence Between Us" is his best single since "Your Favorite Thing". It is just Bob doing what Bob does...with a few more bells and whistles. (But yes, no one likes the vocoder fixation.)

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