Bob Mould has has released a seething new song, “Forecast of Rain,” set to appear on his upcoming album, Blue Hearts, out September 25th via Merge Records.
The track is another expertly crafted bit of alt-rock that finds Mould delivering a sharp critique of religious institutions that seem to have shelved some of the ostensible tenets of their belief system to support President Donald Trump. In a particularly pointed verse, Mould asks with a sneer, “Would this be blasphemy/When you’re a star, you can do what you want/Words on the skyline/Buildings will fall, you’ll pay for it all.”
“[R]ight now, I’m having a hard time understanding how certain religious sectarians can support the behavior of those who occupy the People’s House,” Mould said in a statement. “How can you endorse their disregard for truth? How can you tolerate the incessant vindictiveness? How can you stand by your man while people are teargassed to clear a path to the Lord’s House? I’m not good at quoting scripture, but I can manage two words: Jesus wept.”
“Forecast of Rain” marks the second offering from Blue Hearts, following “American Crisis,” which was released in June. That song was also strikingly charged, with Mould drawing parallels between 1984 and 2020, stating both eras featured “telegenic, charismatic leaders, praised and propped up by extreme Evangelicals, either ignoring an epidemic (HIV/AIDS) or being outright deceitful about a pandemic.”
Blue Hearts follows Mould’s 2019 solo album, Sunshine Rock.
