Consumer Guide Album

Hüsker Dü: 1985: The Miracle Year [Numero Group, 2025]
A double-CD that documents the flowering of what would briefly but indelibly prove into the grungiest, grandest, hardcorest rock trio ever to endanger the eardrums of an audience just then outgrowing the short-hard-fast-and-don't-forget-catchy thrill of a punk that was running out of torque as it got raggedy around the edges. What's most remarkable about these two concert-length discs—one live front to back, one cherry-picked—is that they're really not grand at all. You could even say they're a bit of a mess. But for sure they're alive—so alive that legend has got to be where they'll end up. A−