Last Days Of Pompeii - Nova Mob (1990)

As a songwriter, Grant Hart had a much different style than his Husker Du bandmate Bob Mould. Not poppy, really, but more melody-centered and more standard verse-chorus-verse structures. Even though he’d played drums in Husker Du, he was a guitarist and frontman at heart (maybe why he and Mould clashed a lot).

So after Husker broke up (and after his excellent solo debut, Intolerance), Hart went to the studio with a new trio that he was fronting rather than drumming for. He created one of the most underappreciated albums of the era.

The concept album is about Wernher Von Braun, the architect of Germany’s WWII rocket program, escaping back in time to 79 AD, just before the destruction of Pompeii by volcanic eruption. It doesn’t make a ton of sense, but the band’s name and a lot of Hart’s creative energy came from the bizarre work of William S Burroughs, so what can you say.

The songs are sometimes difficult but just as often you get soaring melodies and catchy hooks. The band whips up a great sound around Hart’s plaintive vocals.

Grant lived a hard life of drug use, chronic disease, and multiple tragedies. He wasn’t able to do a lot of recording. There’s a second Nova Mob record and a handful of solo records, all of very high quality but practically unknown unless you’re a Husker fan.

Grant deserved better but the records are still here even if he’s not.

Tracks I Liked

Over My Head / Persuaded - a couple of excellent tunes that predated this record and are not really part of the narrative.

Admiral Of The Sea - appears twice. first in an understated version, then in full regalia

The Last Days Of Pompeii - a stunner of a closer and one of the best songs on the record