Husker Du
Warehouse: Songs and Stories


3.5
great

Review

by IAJP USER (42 Reviews)
August 20th, 2010 | 21 replies


Release Date: 1987 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Husker Du exit the main stage with a bang and a whimper

Husker Du's last album is over an hour of punk, or rather, twenty tracks of it.

In many ways the album is it's own worst enemy, as well as the band's heroic parting shot. It provides an optimistic and fitting end to an influential and likable band, yet also leaves many questions unanswered as to where the band would have went next. It goes without saying even that an immediate flaw of the album is it's bulk; it's absolutely huge, and though it may not seem it at first glance, it is, as mentioned, incredibly difficult to listen to all the way through. In fact, at least ten tracks could be scrapped for a charming 'Warehouse: Rarities' set, without too much fuss.

Opener These Important Years is an absolutely great track, and one that immediately immerses the listener into the Husker Du sound, with Charity, Chastity, Prudence and Hope following too. A track with a simple enough pretense; that of four girls, all of whom are named after four good old fashioned American values. As with everything with Husker Du, the song's puns and wordplay nearly outstays it's welcome, yet manages to stay just within the border of taste and decency. Ice Cold Ice and You're a Soldier are two of the other obvious highlights, and indeed, as absolutely over the top as it sounds, they are two of the best tracks the band ever recorded. The former is a scathing, sub zero attack on some poor soul, with ferocious guitars that grind away at pattering drums, whereas the latter is an even more scathing attack at the military obsessed United States of America. 'How many kids did you kill today?', screams Grant Hart. He doesn't particularly want to know the answer, and to be honest, neither do I.

There is a lot of filler on here though, the kind of predictable standard fare the band has done before, but turned on it's head for an oddly experimental track, She Floated Away is a good example of this; a decent, but less than memorable number that seems to float in and out of the album's strong track listing. This is the problem with the album, and actually, a problem that's symptomatic of double albums as a whole. The great songs are some of the best Husker Du has ever released, physically strong, emotional and extremely powerful, yet the lesser tracks fall by the wayside, they are so forgettable, pointless and largely poorer in quality, that they drag the album down into the mire of mediocrity.

The even more annoying thing is, as mentioned, the album is over an hour long. This is so unnecessary, but more than that, it actually feels selfish on behalf of the better tracks. I have no doubt this album would improve drastically if it were cut in half and contained only the standout tracks - as controversial as it may seem even, it could even boast being the greatest ever Husker Du release.

Husker Do went out with a bang AND a whimper so it seems. An odd juxtaposition, but nonetheless so. Warehouse: Songs & Stories only adds to the band's already expansive and superb canon of power pop, hardcore punk, and angst rock. The great tracks are some of the best the band have ever written, whereas the filler is just that; airy, light and largely transparent pop-punk; lazily written and shadily placed between the truly exceptional tracks to make it seem less conspicuous. Whichever way you look at it, this may detract or add from Husker Du's discography, but really, on face value, Warehouse: Songs & Stories is a great album with some truly outstanding tracks.



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user ratings (232)
3.6
great


Comments:Add a Comment 
porch
August 20th 2010


8455 Comments


cool to see a husker du review here, good job man. this is def one of their worst releases
though, the production really drags it down and except for 6-7 songs the songwriting is way
weaker than on previous albums

you're a soldier is a grant hart song btw

IAJP
August 20th 2010


378 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

yeah man i do like this album quite a bit but in comparison to their other stuff it's so inconsistent. i'm in love with what this album could be if it was only like 10 or 11 songs but alas.



and yeah i did put that man sorry, will edit that in now. heh. glad yer liked the review.

joshuatree
Emeritus
August 20th 2010


3744 Comments


album's severely underrated imo

AnvilJ
August 20th 2010


124 Comments


Certainly I agree with your comments about the 'filler', but in some ways it breaks up the previous sets of albums well, but ultimately is not all that memorable.

porch
November 20th 2010


8455 Comments


buttfuck

elwyn5150
July 6th 2011


1 Comments


This review seems badly edited. It's the way that it starts off reviewing the tracks, two at a time, then completely stops discussing them.

I've always thought the last side was the best one, with Grant sending parting shots with lyrics such as "I can be fine, I can be free, I can be beautiful without you torturing me" burried under an avalanche of Bob's guitar. Other highlights are hidden in the back too such as "No Reservations" and "Turn it Around".

I thought "Soldier" was rather trite.

Goatlord
December 9th 2011


405 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

Not so much a swansong as a whimper from a once great band. Man, they really petered out at the end there.

jefflebowski
December 9th 2011


8573 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

why does near every Bob Mould and Husker Du album have awful production?

jefflebowski
December 9th 2011


8573 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

indeed it isn't

Goatlord
December 9th 2011


405 Comments

Album Rating: 2.0

"You don"t know rock n roll"



*taps watch



Yeah, this album still sucks.

jefflebowski
December 29th 2011


8573 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

bullshit bullshit bullshit

christianman
December 29th 2011


81 Comments


nigga learn some shit

jefflebowski
December 29th 2011


8573 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

not their best though

jefflebowski
January 8th 2012


8573 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

all late period husker du is pretty underrated

sonictheplumber
June 26th 2013


17591 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

yea this is alright

sonictheplumber
July 29th 2013


17591 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

some good tunes

KriegdemKriege
December 24th 2014


1544 Comments


She Floated Away is a great song.

There's a lot of really solid material here.

MunkeyPuzzled
May 2nd 2015


3 Comments


not bad but kinda thin sounding....nowhere near as miserable of a big-label crossover as say, REM.

dedex
Staff Reviewer
July 15th 2020


12835 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5 | Sound Off

Once again with this band, this album is full of great tunes

Grungil
December 13th 2021


625 Comments


DEspite Warehouse being the worst Husker Du album, its also their most REM-ish album, better than anything Stipe&Co ever did. It only shows who really was the best american alternative rock band in the 80s..



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