Customer Reviews

Since We've Become Translucent

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is not my fave Mudhoney record. I love Mudhoney, but I prefer their older stuff. Some songs have a more progressive feel to them (Sonic Infusion and Baby Can You Dig the Light) I think it lacks the energy of my favorite Mudhoney record, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge. The beats are slower and more bluesy, not as much punk rock influences. But it's good to see that they've evolved. Every good band should evolve and try new things. I'd recomend their self titled album or EGBDF first before you buy this.

Compared to all the other Mudhoney full length albums, this is their worst. That being stated, it's still not a terrible record... there's actually many bright spots on the record. They're branching out here (lengthening songs, bringing in horns) which is cool to hear, but it is obvious that this is a transitional album for the band. Some tracks really rock, while just as many drag. Dyin for it, Crooked & Wide, & Winner's Circle are particularly offensive to me, just because they are so extremely unremarkable and bland... tedious really.

The following album (Under a Billion Suns) is a bit spotty as well, but blows the doors off this record and Lucky Ones competes with their finest work. Since We've Become Translucent captures the band struggling to get their footing.

I do give the graphic design of the album five stars. The gatefold of the vinyl edition is super sweet.

This is not my favorite Mudhoney release but to be fair, I need to give it another chance.

That said, Inside Job is one of the all time great garage rock songs. The fact that it was totally ignored upon its release while the media was tripping over itself to praise the Hives and the Vines is just one more twist of the irony knife in the heart of this great band.

Despite the fear that Y2K threatened to singlehandedly whipe out Mark Arm's computer of a brain, Mudhoney has returned after rumors of breakup and member lossage to make their career account for providing music during three calendar decades.

With the release of "Since We've Become Translucent", Mudhoney has returned to their hometown Sub Pop Records which at the time was steering away from the once favored 'Seattle Sound' and digging it's fingers into the now-associative and weaker sounding indie-pop genre. As with 2006's "Under A Billion Suns", these grunge daddies bring back the slew 'n' roll of the label's historic yesterdays and makes Sub Pop's wallpaper artist Iron And Wine sound even more... flower patterned.

The intro to the opening cut finds Mudhoney dabbling in an eight minute free-jazz freak-out rather than their previous tricks of off-kilter Sonic Youth noise experimentism, using horns (a Mudhoney first which is undoubtedly influenced by The Stooges "Fun House") and clean guitar effects. In a quest to find meaning, the song's ending lyrics "This is the end of the tunnel and there is no light/Where is the light/I always thought I'de see some kind of light" may very well tell the abbreviated tale of Mudhoney's beginnings at Sub Pop, then venturing out to Reprise Records in hopes of greater exposure, but ultimately returning to their humble starting point.

So what's a band to do? Re-invent itself. Kind of. Assuming you know the band, in the years that have passed since 1998's highly underrated "Tomarrow Hit Today", Mudhoney's bassist Matt Lukin left the band to persue his carpentery talents, Mark Arm and Steve Turner made a second (brilliant) blues-punk Monkeywrench album, and Dan Peters probably just drank pools of beer which left the band to question itself on their viability as a functioning group of 40 year old rockers. Instead of becomming another trended Seattle casualty, the band recruited Mark Arm's Austrailian friend and music colleague Guy Maddison (see Bloodloss and Lubricated Goat) to hold down the low end.

With the band in full tow, songs such as "The Straight Life", "Inside Job", "Dyin' For It", and the anti-Bush/anti-Gore anthem "Our Time Is Now", Mudhoney has regrouped their unmistakable audio assualt unit which has succeeded in overpowering most songs from their previous three albums in smarter and renewing energy. Although Mudhoney has fallen victim to album cohesiveness of the years, "Since We've Become Translucent" still counts as a sequel to their trademark sound and will not end up sounding dated when we all ring in the next decade to skirt in the Great Grunge Revivial of the 2010's. Until then, welcome to and enjoy the New Millenium Mudhoney.

I don't know what the other reviewers have been smoking, but this one is a giant stinker. Don't waste your time. They totally lost their edge. No maddening guitar riffs, no dirty sex lyrics, nothing left that used to define Mudhoney as the grandfathers of grunge. They used to be good, now I want ot vomit.

Instead of this, buy their self titled album and 'Super Bigmuff plus Early Singles.' Those both hold up even with age. If you have both of those and want something contemporary, get into the Queens of the Stone Age, Mondo Generator, Eagles of Death Metal, and the Desert Sessions. Bands like these carry on the tradition of the grunge greats, not in their sound but in their attitude.

Mudhoney pride themselves on making loud, raucous anti-authority anthems. Well that's great. They sound great; Mark Arm has a perfect voice for insolent, working-class rock. So why bury the vocals somewhere in the background? Behind Guitars? Maybe burying vocals in the mix works for some bands, but for these guys it's the wrong approach. Those Beaurocrat hating screams should be loud and proud, splitting your ear-drums like you want em to!

It's too bad I'm writing this, because, other than that, this is a fine record. The opening, 8 minute + anthem 'Baby can you dig the light' is some crazy-but-oh-so-right anthem with organs, saxaphones and treated vocals. Whoa! Fantastic. A few of the other songs have a late 60's blues-psych leaning, like the catchy 'Take it like a man', and some straight ahead Mudhoney anthems like 'This is our time'. But the mixing/production ruins it. I'd give it three, but the final 'epic' is ruined by that 'bury the vocals' approach. Rating **1/2 (2.5)

This is easily their finest work since the unbridled rage and lunacy of the self-titled full-length debut. The Black Sabbath-style guitar/bass sludge is in full force. The blues-infused influence of Stevie and Mark's Monkeywrench project is in effect. The twisted guitar and rolling drumbeats inspired by Sonic Youth are everywhere. Mark Arm still wails like no one in rock and roll. And, this time, THE HORNS...baby, can you dig the HORNS?!?! Seriously, Mudhoney has not put out an album this strong and consistent from the first track to the last since the beginning.

Inside Job is just a copy of Iggy Pop's Lust For Life.