May 20th of this year was Mudhoney day, a fitting celebration of an iconic band that is often seen as a pioneer of the grunge movement. They exploded into prominence when Nirvana broke, which left Mudhoney – the band many believe were its most influential practitioners – in the bittersweet position of being hugely respected elder statesmen, while still unlucky not to enjoy the same commercial success some of their Seattle contemporaries (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) enjoyed.

However, frontman Mark Arm seems anything but bitter at their role as cult icons. Despite some interviewers having previously found him a somewhat defensive figure, he is in a bright mood today, which befits his veteran group’s revitalised energy.

Low-key as it may have been, the Mudhoney day was a fitting celebration to mark the re-release of the legendary Superfuzz Bigmuff, some 20 years after it first appeared as an EP. It included the immortal, paint-stripping Touch Me, I’m Sick and has now been expanded to include other material, including singles and some blistering live performances that appeared around the same time. While understandably pleased with the record’s continued prominence, Arm notes its enduring reputation with some bemusement. “I’m kind of surprised that it has [stood the test of time]. At the time we were doing it, we were just doing it for the moment…we didn’t think of how it might be thought of in the future.”

That re-release is only part of the reason to celebrate for Mudhoney fans. Fierce new album The Lucky Ones has also hit the shelves and is garnering their group’s best reviews in years. Mark Arm’s trademark sneer is in fine form throughout, and while he plays no guitar at all on the record, their famed axe-wielding mayhem is still present and correct. It’s now solely in the capable hands of Steve Turner, who Arm considers “one of the last interesting lead guitar players out there”.

The record blasts into action with the purposeful I’m Now, which has that almost effortless feel of many great dirty rock songs. So was this a song that came as easy as it sounds? “Yeah…it started off with Guy playing a bassline, and I had an idea for a rhythm and, yeah, that was kind of it.” While some of the other material was roughly demoed on a four track before they entered the studio, I’m Now wasn’t; largely because the rest of the band weren’t familiar with the vocal cues. In fact, so unfamiliar was the song when they went to record it that Dan Peters (the drummer and briefly a member of Nirvana) “threw up his hands in the air and was like ‘What, we stop here?’” at the song’s end. The spontaneous approach to recording worked a treat; Arm says the track was “super fresh” when committed to tape. It definitely sounds it.

Another dynamite cut from The Lucky Ones is the fuzzed-out Tales of Terror. Mark confirms it’s a name check to the short-lived Sacramento punk hell-raisers who enjoyed a cultish following in the early ‘80s, and who Arm recalls as “one of the drunkest bands I’ve ever seen”. He recalls one song show in particular where the band’s singer was so inebriated that he made an unsteady zigzag across the stage before face-planting on the ground and spending the rest of the set passed out. Still, they were notable for more than their prodigious alcohol intake: “They were one of the first punk rock hardcore bands that went beyond that [genre’s sound],” Arm says.

While Mudhoney have never departed from their primal sound, a muddy mélange of Stooges and skuzzy, distortion-heavy guitar rock, they did make the interesting choice of working with producer Tucker Martine on The Lucky Ones. Martine is better known for his work with quieter, more intricate-sounding acts such as Sufjan Stevens and The Decembrists. He had also previously worked on four songs on Mudhoney’s previous record Under A Billion Stars and collaborated to great effect with guitar player Steve Turner when the latter branched out into an acoustic solo project. While not an obvious choice, Arm explains the band believed Tucker “would bring something interesting to our straight-ahead rock thing.”

Tucker’s “super great” rapport with the band was vital in a lightning-fast recording session ( The Lucky Ones was recorded from go-to-whoa in just over three days, including overdubs). The group went in with 11 songs, and recorded it, as is their wont, almost like a live record. Having intended to return later for some weekend sessions with more material, they soon decided the original session had yielded a selection of songs so cohesive that “it was like a sign from God”, and that they should consider the record finished. And so it was.

The four-piece are currently gearing up for Sub Pop Record’s 20th anniversary celebrations. The festival will see them play alongside a who’s who of American underground stars as varied as Low, Iron and Wire, Comets on Fire and Wolf Parade. Arm can hardly wait. “It’ll be great to see The Fluid again after all this time, and [feral French punks] Les Thugs and [Kurt Cobain favourites] The Vaselines, who have never been here before…and Flight of the Conchords, doing their comedy thing.” Another surprising inclusion on the bill is Green River, Mark Arm’s pre-Mudhoney band, which also includes Stone Gossard and Jeff Arment, both founding members of Pearl Jam.

As for a possible Australian tour, Arm explains there is “nothing concrete” planned, but enthusiastically announces that he’s ready to make the trek any time it becomes feasible. He says they had an offer to come to Australia in January, but after doing the maths, were disappointed to realise it would have been impossible to bring the band (even with their threadbare two-man support crew) to these shores.

If the strength of the new record is anything to go by, those catching Mudhoney this year are lucky ones indeed. Anyone with even the vaguest interest in primitive rock must be crossing their fingers for an Australian version of Mudhoney day in the not-too-distant future.

The Lucky Ones is released Saturday 24 May. Read FasterLouder’s review of the album HERE.