Under a Billion Suns
It may be cute and cuddly to link Mudhoney with the grunge generation of the Pacific Northwest's early nineties, but even after a cup of coffee in the majors the Seattle foursome continues to endure more then a decade after the genre was deemed defunct. Album number nine could be its most electrifying record sinceEvery Good Boy Deserves Fudge, contrasting a band with a burgeoning social conscience, but one that shows no signs of growing old. Barreling along with the sodden riffs of guitarist Steve Turner and a rhythm section that overflows in chaos (see the instrumental "A Brief Celebration of Indifference"), vocalist Mark Arm is aping maturity, spitting a soured societal fury over D.C. demigods ("Hard-on For War"), plodding expectations ("Where is the Future") and repeat hangovers ("Let's Drop In," complete with female harmonies and Memphis-style horns). Eighteen years have come and gone, but Mudhoney remains.--Scott Holter