Kevin Bronson on April 13th, 2016

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At this stage, there are few fresh accolades to heaped on Bob Mould, whose music career predates the Reagan Administration and whose catalog stands as a model of integrity. Or, to quote somebody else’s review of his new album “Patch the Sky”: “The release of a new Bob Mould album, here in 2016, is akin to receiving a letter from one of your oldest friends.” Mould remains stubbornly relevant, wrestling the demons that, at 55, he knows all too well (Aside: That there are still demons to wrestle at 55 is something to look forward to, right kids?) and making songs that sound resolute, or better, like rallying cries.

So it is with the new song “Hold On” off the new record, his third for Merge and the dark finale in a trilogy that began with 2012’s “Silver Age” and 2014’s “Beauty and Ruin.” It’s an uplifting song, and Alicia J. Rose’s video finds Mould in a bizarre reverie, encountering people on the soggy streets of Portland, wandering into a strange bar and finding himself among flannel-shirted look-alikes at a talent show. The video is the sequel to an intense, previously released clip for the song “Voices in My Head” (start with that one below). Thankfully, Mould is still listening to his.

||| Watch: The videos for “Hold On” and “Voices in My Head”

||| Live: Bob Mould plays May 13 at the Teragram Ballroom. He also joins Bloc Party and Ezra Furman on Sept. 25 at the Hollywood Bowl as part of the KCRW World Festival.