Three must be Bob Mould's favorite number. His groundbreaking band Husker Du was a trio (with Grant Hart, who is also gay, and Greg Norton) as was Sugar (with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis), the band he formed after he tried his hand as a solo artist. While credited to Mould, his last three albums, including his latest, Patch the Sky (Merge), are actually the work of a trio (Mould, Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster). Combining the best, most rocking elements of his previous musical associations, Mould has found a groove, and he's sticking with it. Opener "Voice in My Head" is one of the gentler tunes here. Mould and company construct the "walls of sound that keep the sky from falling down" referred to in "Monument" on "The End of Things," "Daddy's Favorite" and "Losing Time."
Like Bob Mould, Jeff Heiskell was the gay frontman of a band, The Judybats, who were college radio favorites with a major-label record deal during the early 1990s. Since then, the Knoxville-based Heiskell has set out on a solo career, releasing some respectable albums. His latest, Arriving (heiskellmusic.com), really rocks. It goes out on a limb on "Deep Appreciation," which benefits from a close reading of the lyrics. "Carharts" might be the sexiest blue-collar love song ever written. "Fireflies" and "Faded Letter" should put a smile on Judybats fans' faces. "Standing Tall" and "Half Full" are fascinating excursions, while "Cry" may make you do just that.
Kevin Thornton is a man of many faces. You might know the openly gay Thornton as an actor from his one-man show Sex, Dreams & Self-Control. You may also recognize him from his various musical acts, including Waves on Waves and Thornton. His latest musical incarnation, the Nashville-based band Indiana Queen, refuses to hide in a country closet. Putting a distinctively queer spin on Americana tunes, Indiana Queen crowns its second album I Built a Fire (indianaqueen.com). Each of the nine songs deserves to be heard, with "Everyone I Passed Today" and "The Willow Tree" especially recommended.
Due to his opulent pop style, Rufus Wainwright is one of those artists whose albums should have been released on LP from the very beginning. At the time of the release of Wainwright's debut disc in 1998, vinyl hadn't undergone the resurgence it's now experiencing. Sure, a promo-only version of Wainwright's 2003 Want One surfaced, but it was hard to find a copy. Thankfully, this is being remedied, beginning with the double-LP vinyl reissues of Rufus Wainwright and 2001's Poses (both on Geffen/UMe). The best way to describe the experience of listening to these albums on LP vs. CD: The song "Beauty Mark," written about Wainwright's late mother, acclaimed singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, always sounded pleasant on CD, sandwiched between the songs "Baby" and "Barcelona." But when it becomes an opening track, as it does on Side 3, it takes on a whole different status. The same can be said of the masterpiece "Grey Gardens," which opens Side 3 of Poses, or the way that Rufus' cover of his father Loudon's "One Man Guy" closes the same side. The LP of Poses, like the 2002 expanded CD reissue, includes Wainwright's dazzling cover of "Across the Universe."