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![1985: The Miracle Year [Box Set] Image](https://static.metacritic.com/images/products/music/0/8a3056a31fbd2d45f4f76ba206bb15e4-98.jpg)
- Summary: The four-LP box set Minneapolis punk trio Hüsker Dü features the complete and previously unreleased January 30, 1985 set at Minneapolis' First Avenue, 20 more live tracks from the 1985 tour and a 36-page book.
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- Record Label: Numero Group
- Genre(s): Punk, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
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- MojoNov 19, 2025A complete set from Minneapolis's First Avenue in January 1985, powered by the sulphurous char of Bob Mould's guitar and Grant Hart's heart-attack drumming, showcases their alchemical blend of classic pop melodicism and punk velocity, closing with apocalyptic Beatles and Byrds covers. A second disc of stray recordings previews their 1986 Warners debut and burgeoning maturity. [Nov 2025, p.101]
- UncutNov 19, 2025Though the variable recording quality of the later tracks can hinder their impact, the performance captured at First Ave and newly restored by engineer Beau Sorenson roars and gnashes and seethes with enough intensity to collapse the 40-year gap between then and now. [Dec 2025, p.45]
- The WireNov 19, 2025The laser focus evenly applied to songs from the upcoming album (Grant Hart's heart-wrenching "Don't Want To Know If You're Lonely" and "Sorry Somehow") and older material makes it apparent why Hüsker Dü were the first US punk band to make that historic leap into the mainstream. To catch an earful of them in a live setting after that dicey dive is truly an illuminating experience. [Dec 2025, p.68]
- Nov 19, 2025The Miracle Year pairs this [First Avenue club] show with other assorted tracks, most of which sound like a glorious, scratchy cassette bootleg, led by the galvanizing Celebrated Summer and Chartered Trips. [Dec 2025, p.91]
- Nov 20, 2025For longtime fans, this is the clearest window yet into a period when the trio was remaking underground rock in real time. For newer listeners, the set serves as both a history lesson and a gateway.
- Nov 19, 2025A number of the record’s best songs sizzle and churn on Miracle Year. The atmospherics of the live setting suit the combination of incisive melody and the chaotic fuzz-and-feedback issuing from Bob Mold’s guitar; check out “If I Told You,” “Powerline” and especially New Day Rising’s title track. .... 1985: The Miracle Year includes another four LP sides of live Hüsker Dü, from various gigs in ’85, and you can hear some serious hard psych: “Chartered Trips” from a show in Switzerland, “Eiffel Tower High” from Salt Lake City, “Sunshine Superman” from Hoboken.
- Classic Rock MagazineNov 19, 2025Punk never sounded more soulful. [Dec 2025, p.83]
