Prolific alt-rock icon Bob Mould sees the entirety of his recorded work from 1989 to 2019 released on the box set Distortion: 1989-2019, arriving Oct. 2 via Demon Music Group. Comprising eight studio albums, four live albums and two albums of rarities and collaborations, the CD anthology will feature exclusive new artwork and sleeve notes.
“It’s called Distortion because it describes the music and it fits the world we live in,” Mould said in a statement. “In this new age, everybody shares their life in real time. But I’m not done yet. If I didn’t have a constantly active career, this anthology might feel like the proverbial dirt landing on top of my coffin — though somehow I seem to be able to crawl my way out of the dirt every time!”
Distortion features a grand total of 295 tracks and includes every solo album from 1989’s Workbook to 2019’s Sunshine Rock, the entire Sugar catalog, Mould’s out-of-print electronica projects LoudBomb and Blowoff, and four live albums spanning the period 1989-2008.
A 72-page booklet includes new interviews with Mould, a foreword by writer/actor Fred Armisen, testimonials by Richard Thompson, Shirley Manson and Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, plus lyrics and unseen memorabilia. A 1,000-limited edition includes an exclusive print hand-signed by Mould.
The box set also contains the previously unreleased instrumental “Dog On Fire,” the home demo version of the Mould-penned theme song for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
With today’s announcement also comes audio and video of Mould performing Hüsker Dü‘s ‘Could You Be the One?” recorded at Washington D.C.‘s 9:30 Club in October 2005.
The box sets follow the Sept. 25 release of Mould’s Blue Hearts album; three more vinyl box sets are slated for 2021.
Watch a trailer for the collection below.
