The Sigla Blog

On the cusp of the 1990s, when grunge had the world in its greasy paw, a small Seattle record label called Sub Pop offered an antidote to the steady diet of English indie most music fans had subsisted on for years. While Nirvana sold records in the millions and Pearl Jam scooped up critical acclaim, the first Sub Pop band I discovered was Mudhoney. Having heard the band’s early b-side Touch Me I’m Sick on John Peel’s show, I duly sent off to the US for their Superfuzz Bigmuff ep (named for guitar distortion pedals and not sex toys). Splicing sloppy garage with punk rock and humour, Mudhoney were the cooler, less global face of ‘grunge’. 17 years on from Superfuzz’ release and three years since Since We’ve Become Translucent, they’re currently mixing their seventh studio album.

“This album would have been out earlier if I hadn’t gone on tour with the MC5 guys last summer,â€? says Mark Arm down the phone from Seattle. “We also don’t have to worry about putting out a record because we’re ‘hot’ and need to stay in the charts. Another reason for the huge gap was because Matt (Lukin) left the band and we didn’t really know what to do.â€? After Lukin’s departure, Arm, a veteran of bands like Green River and The Thrown Ups, worked on another project, Monkeywrench with fellow Mudhoney member Steve Turner. Having a separate outlet provided the impetus for them to rediscover their Mudhoney mojo. The resulting tracks . not due out here until early 2006 . are a blend of classic Mudhoney fuzz and a sharper edge.

Arm is quite ambiguous about individual tracks, but clear on the band’s sound. “I don’t know how to describe the album but some people say it’s different to previous stuff, others say it’s the same. As a band, three of us have been playing together since 1988 so we very much have our own sound.â€?

In production terms, they’ve built on the sound of the surprisingly under-rated Since We’ve Become Translucent. Instead of just one producer, they’ve been working with three - Johnny Sangster, Phil Ek and Tucker Martine. “We used three producers last time around and really liked the results. We had a bunch of songs already worked out so we divided them up according to which producers we thought would work best and went in to the studio with each of them for a weekend, about two weeks apartâ€?. Their recording timetable was pivoted around bassist Guy Maddison’s work schedule, a reminder that these days, Mudhoney all have day jobs, with Mark Arm himself managing the Sub Pop warehouse.

It might seem like a far cry from their heyday but Arm is more than content with the band’s success to date. The inevitable issue of Nirvana’s success, which eclipsed all of Sub Pop’s other signings, comes up time and again in interviews. “When we first started touring England, before Nirvana made it over there, we did an interview with Melody Maker where the journalist started a sentence with ‘So, when you become huge rock stars.’ and we were like ‘That’s just not gonna happen’. So was this a lack of faith or monstrous cynicism? “In a way, we felt that things had come really easily for us and we took stuff for granted. We went to Europe really early on in and John Peel was playing us but we knew what we were. Most of the bands we liked or who influenced us never amounted to shit in terms of record sales. It wasn’t even about being defeatist, we just knew what we were capable of.â€?

Arm tells a story about Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain playing the first copy of Nevermind to Dan Peters and him raving that Nirvana would sell “a hundred thousand copies of the album�. “Because, to all of those bands at the time, that figure was huge�, says Arm, “but no one knew how big it would go on to be. We were in a privileged spot to see up close what happened to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Both bands handled their success in totally different ways. The way Nirvana took care of themselves, as a band and as people, was abysmal.�

Mudhoney were no strangers to major labels, having signed to Reprise/Warner Brothers, releasing Piece of Cake, Tomorrow Hits Today and My Brother the Cow for the label. Despite the momentum of a big label, Mudhoney are still better known for their early releases. Arm’s personal favourites are the Superfuzz ep, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge and Since We’ve Become Translucent, and is less enthused about the first Mudhoney album (“sounds like Superfuzz Bigmuff Juniorâ€?) My Brother The Cow (“us finding our feet again after not caringâ€?) and Piece of Cake (“some great songs but doesn’t hold up as an albumâ€?).

There has been much talk about the new album’s political/protest angle. When Mudhoney were at the top of their game in early 1990s, another Bush was in the White House. If noisy guitar bands have always veered towards anti-establishment principles, Mudhoney were never overtly political. “Well, it was always there, you know? But we tried to couch it in black humour. With the new album, well (laughs) it might have been blown a little bit out of proportion. There’s a couple of tracks on there that are making a point, but it’s not exactly ‘Fuck Bush’.â€? Not even on Hard-on For War I hazard? “The year before the election, it was all I could think about. It’s really frustrating living here right now. A lot of people were optimistic before the last election and a lot of us were pretty depressed for weeks afterwards when Bush was re-elected.â€?

Listening to Mudhoney, there is a tendency for the music to dominate, for the lyrics to get flushed away by a stream of buzzsaw guitars. Arm has always found writing lyrics - which he compares to storytelling - quite difficult and admits that it doesn’t get easier with age. “Some authors write autobiographically, some make up stuff, I think I do a little of both but probably more of the latter.â€? Are they a necessary evil? “If you write songs and you want to sing, yes they are. For me, as time goes on it’s harder and harder to find uncharted territory or something worth saying that I haven’t said before. Either that or finding something to say that isn’t a total cliché that when you’re younger, you can get away with it (laughs). There’s also nothing more boring to me than some super-confessional singer songwriter. Who gives a shit? Everyone has loved and lost and had to deal with it.â€?

The band haven’t played Ireland in 10 years and there are two London dates also lined up. “I’m really looking forward to it actually. There are a couple of songs in the set that we haven’t played live in about twelve yearsâ€? says Arm. “It’s great for us being in a room, playing our music to a roomful of people who are enjoying themselves. I can’t wait to get out there and do it again.â€?