Mudhoney Articles
Tucson Citizen
15 August '02
MUDHONEY
Since We've Become Translucent
Any Mudhoney release is going to enter the world enveloped in high
expectations, and the Seattle band's eighth LP - the first with
intuitive bassist Guy Maddison - doesn't require any
allowances. It balances the diversity that comes from
working with four different producers and studios with a
consistent mood thick with superfuzzy psychedelia.
If radio were once again hospitable to the 8-minute single, the expansive,
deliciously textured "Sonic Infusion" would perhaps get its commercial due. As
it is, the dense, effects-laden tune caps an album full of the usual solid
musicianship Mudhoney delivers and nice doses of experimentation.
Maybe it's the time Mark Arm (vocals, guitar), Steve Turner (guitar) and
Dan Peters (drums) spent doing Sonics covers a little while back, but the band
for the first time incorporates a horn section into its music, and with rich results.
"Where the Flavor Is" gains incredible depth from the windy repeats of the
main riff, and the canted horns on "Take It Like a Man" underscore
Mudhoney's tongue-in-cheekiness.
Arm's over-the-top, strained vocals wear a bit thin, especially on "In the
Winner's Circle," and he's good enough a frontman to wonder how a more
varied approach might expand the band's sound. Regardless, "Since We've
Become Translucent" has few ebbs of interest. In a just world, the focused
"Dyin' for It"; gritty, "Lust for Life"-driven "Inside Job," which was engineered
by Jack Endino (Nirvana, Supersuckers); and groovy "The Straight Line" are
hit singles. More importantly, all contribute to a cohesive album that should
dispel all those Mudhoney break-up rumors.
- Polly Higgins
