Under a Billion Suns
Following 2002’s transitional *Since We’ve Become Translucent*, Mudhoney settled into their new incarnation with bassist Guy Madison on 2006’s *Under a Billion Suns*. Even though they are not turning their backs on their signature brand of sludge-infested garage rock, there is now the sense that they are no longer beholden to their past. *Under a Billion Suns* reflects the turmoil of George W. Bush’s second term in subliminal terms. Most of the songs adopt a downward sloping tone, as if to capture the nation’s frowning demeanor. The garage rock bounce of previous albums is here replaced with the terrifying drones of “Endless Yesterday,” “In Search of,” and “Hard On for War,” the last of which is a grotesque satire that ends with Mark Arm growling: “I’ve become a dirty old man with a hard-on for war.” Eighteen years into their career, Mudhoney continue to find inspiration in Iggy & The Stooges. Say what you will about aging Mudhoney — they are the only living band with the salt to pull off such a monstrous piece of rock theater.
Mudhoney is a four-piece rock group from the old, weird Seattle. For 18 years they have plugged into wall sockets all over the world, proving to be one of the most consistently electrifying acts to survive the grunge implosion, whatever that was. The wolfish howls of singer Mark Arm, soulful splatterings of guitarist Steve Turner and frenzied fills of drummer Dan Peters have produced 9 albums to date, most of which are considered neo-garage classics. In addition, they have had two bassists over the years, Matt Lukin, who retired in 1999, later replaced by the inimitable Australian Guy Maddison. Under a Billion Suns is the band’s new long-player and it’s performed with the same amplified urgency of their previous work. While history has shown musicians to be a largely unreliable lot, Mudhoney has never swayed in its vision of making really loud rock music and this album is no exception. Produced with the help of three notable knobsters (Phil Ek, Johnny Sangster, Tucker Martine) and boasting a blaring horn section, Under a Billion Suns exposes a more snidely political-fueled side to our shaggy heroes, but one revealed through the invariables of the Mudhoney recipe: thick, soggy punk riffs and underrated guitar dynamics, psychedelic tangents and snot-nosed finger-pointing. It is loud, it is fierce, and it is here for our world right now. Lucky for us, so is Mudhoney.
Did anyone ever attribute much of a social conscience to Mudhoney back in the day when they were "The Guys Who Built Grunge"?
Under A Billon Suns actively undermines expectations, in the way great modern rock albums are supposed to.
In its early years, Mudhoney consciously cultivated an image as a group of underachievers armed only with distortion pedals and leering attitude; both were...