I've always had something of a tough time getting into punk, I think. Typically, I'm a melody guy, and while I can definitely appreciate some hardcore punk (I definitely enjoy bands like Minor Threat and Misfits), it can be kind of a barrier for me at times. New Day Rising, however, is an entirely different beast. Yes, at its core, it's still punk, but Husker Du here has an ear for melody that might've raised the ire of some punks back in the day, but also created some infectious punk rock that doesn't sacrifice an ounce of its raw power and force. You can tell they're not sacrificing an inch of their sound just from the opening title track, which just blares this abrasive guitar lead and then takes off. That kind of raw power is on display on tracks like "Celebrated Summer" and "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill," but the former also has an incredibly strong melody carrying it through, and in the second half, even has a very notable dip into a much slower style. "Books About UFO's" also maintains a strong melody throughout even through the incredibly distortion and fuzz, for probably one of the album's most upbeat songs. Then there's the tracks where the band starts getting weird towards the end. "How to Skin A Cat" is a noisy cacophony of weird phrases about "feeding the cats to the rats" and abstract guitar jams that only gets more frantic as it goes on, and all to great effect. New Day Rising is diverse like that. It's, in many ways, just as creative as it is hardcore.
Rating 4/5
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