Mudhoney - Under ABillion Suns

Thu 23rd Feb, 2006 in Music Reviews

For 18 years Mudhoney have been at the forefront of everything to do with the so-called Seattle sound. They were there to pioneer it and lead it into its mainstream revolution, and they are still here today as one of the few who survived the grunge implosion.

With nine albums already under their belt, Under a Billion Suns is the tenth in the collection and they are showing no signs of slowing down. Produced by three notable knob twiddlers in the form of Phil Ek, Johnny Sangster and Tucker Martine, this disc contains not only the trademark thick and soggy punk riffs and wolfish howls of singer Mark Arm, but also incorporates a very complimentary horn section.

It’s a huge sounding album, the kind that needs the volume pumped to 11 blaring across the house. Listening to it in any other form (particularly through the dodgy in-built speakers of this reviewer’s laptop) just does not translate the feel of what it has to offer.

The first thing that must be mentioned is the production on the album. Mudhoney is one of those bands who under no circumstance should ever be polished through album production, and whilst the producers have done an incredible job through the clarity found on all the tracks they have managed to still keep a raw feel to the album. A lot of it almost sounds like it could have come from Superfuzz Bigmuff, except that it doesn’t sound like it was recorded on a boombox.

From the moment the play button is pressed, the all-familiar psychedelic fuzzed guitars ring in alongside the impatiently paced percussion and whine-howl of Mr. Arm, it’s certain that this is going to be a real treat to listen to. The horn section mentioned earlier above is already present on this first track, and for the rest of the album they don’t hold back with using them more.

It Is Us pumps along with a rhythmic pounding bassline before settling into surf-rock styled half solo/half riff type ditties. Whilst this is not an instrumental track in the slightest, the focus for It Is Us seems to be much more on showcasing the handy work of guitarist Steve Turner. Horns again help to bring the song to a close, but their inclusion appears rather unnecessary.

It could be easy to see I Saw The Light used as part of the backing soundtrack played over the jukebox inside Al’s Diner during an episode of Happy Days with its mellow and bluesy sound. Following on is Endless Yesterday, one of the more uninspiring numbers, it plods along with little in the way of any real hooks.

Thankfully Empty Shells picks up the pace a bit and is more upbeat with another funky picked guitar riff bit that is littered throughout the album. The horns also pick up again with this song after its absence in the previous two, appearing only briefly in the bridge and thus not creating a need for them to make the song work.

A Brief Celebration of Indifference stands at track seven and is a jam-like instrumental track. Listening to this makes you feel the intense energy that must have been flowing between these guys when they wrote this. It’s sure to be one track fans will be salivating to hear live.

Track 10 (In Search Of…) is filled with more psychedelic guitar mumblings and stuttering drums, it’s the kind of song that is perfect as you’re settling down to sleep for the night. Don’t take that as being that the song is boring, rather that it is calming and easy on the ears.

Across the album, the vocal stylings don’t vary a great deal and can become a bit monotonous. If you’ve ever owned a Mudhoney album before then you know what I’m talking about, but if you haven’t previously been a fan then this may stand in the way of making this a great album.

In short, this is a rock solid effort from one of the oldest bands in their genre, and this only stands to prove why they’re still at the top of their game. Let’s hope they bring themselves back down under real soon.