The Argument

For all its sprawl, The Argument maintains a brisk pace, with a White Album-inspired sense of irreverence that ensures Hart never gets stuck in place for long.

There’s decidedly no fall from grace here for Grant Hart on The Argument, his most ambitious and accomplished album in years.

Former Hüsker Dü drummer/songwriter Grant Hart exhibits huge ambition on The Argument.

This is a no-flab 20-song cinematic suite in four movements, featuring Hart’s weather-beaten Bowie-like semi-falsetto in all of its majesty.

The Argument never seems like work, as Hart is thoroughly engaged, delivering songs that work on their own terms but purposefully add up to an intriguing, tantalizing enigma.

His fifth solo album finds his talents and ambition undimmed.

Rickety in construction, it holds up as a work of single-minded, lunatic conviction. [Aug 2013, p.61]

With his bijou gift for melody, over 75 minutes Hart delivers abundantly. [Aug 2013, p.86]

The Argument is a highly laudable effort--literary heads will enjoy its attempt at condensing the complexities of the epic poem, while many will take pleasure in the story Man’s downfall sounding so varied and tuneful.

The Argument is a wondrous thing, full of its own joy. [Aug 2013, p.99]

As with most LPs of this density, momentum lapses between set-pieces, but The Argument's ambition demands respect, if only to pay dues to a man who waited 25 years to write his All Things Must Pass.

The very best tracks grapple with eternal themes of love, fear, suffering and the transmigration of the soul, with the overarching narrative largely irrelevant; the low points, however, take the dramatic framework and hit you upside the holy head.

Musically, the songs favor stripped-down and straight ahead garage rock production values, often driven by organ chords. [Jul 2013, p.65]

The Argument may not be the best place for novices to acquaint themselves with the work of Grant Hart but for long-term observers it proves to be a welcome return from a singular if erratic talent.

It hits and misses, but it’s a memorable record from a songwriter worthy of the attention.

Musically scattergun, with vintage rock ‘n’ roll rubbing shoulders with post-rock sounds, there’s much to admire about this bold artistic statement.

The Argument's cataclysmic clashes and multitudinous puzzle pieces that never quite fit together are the stuff of a deeply flawed classic.

All very highbrow and ambitious for sure, yet despite portentous advance warnings of material involving fallen angels, the Garden Of Eden and Dante-ish visions of Hell, songs such as the plaintive Morningstar and the Buddy Holly-aping rattle of Letting Me Out quickly prove Hart’s still more than capable of channelling his lofty ideals through good ol’ verse-chorus-verse.

As with most of Hart’s work, The Argument is an ambitious album that is often brilliant when it isn’t tripping over itself.