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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
If it weren't for the vocals, October 30, 2008
I don't know how to write an album review, but someone's gotta do it.
I grew up in a bubble and didn't discover grunge music until the era was nearly over, but when I did it had a profound effect on me, but, like many, my exposure to it and ability to appreciate it was limited to what went mainstream. In recent years my interest in grunge music has had a resurgence, and I came across Jack Endino, who produced Soundgarden's and Nirvana's debut Sub Pop albums. Listening to the samples of "Permanent Fatal Error", I felt I had struck gold and downloaded it.
This is a very impressive album in nearly all respects. In the first place, this is genuine Seattle Sound, despite being released in 2005. I'm by no means expert on what's out there, but I personally haven't found anything else being put out these days that returns so faithfully to those roots at all, let alone so well and without sounding out of place today.
More importantly, it's great music and great art. Raw, guitar-driven, often speedy and aggressive. Complex rhythms and riffs. Most will not find it catchy, but to me that is a plus. The hooks have all been done before; this one explores the nooks and crannies of the space of possibilities within its style. It's not always brilliant, but always intelligent, interesting, and edgy.
If I have one complaint, it is that Endino's voice strikes me as not going well with this style of music. He isn't able to scream like Cobain, Cornell, Staley, Vedder, etc. And not that I think he can't, but he doesn't, just sing clean, which actually might work better for his songs anyway, but perhaps he decided that didn't give it the edginess needed, and settled for a compromise of unvaryingly singing with a raspy voice. His raspiness seems contrived, though, and this deprives it of emotional power and dynamism, which is something I think is pretty essential to grunge music. But he has the voice he has (and there are instrumental tracks, too), and that's a small price to pay for the excellent contribution this album is.
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~ Mudhoney
~ Mudhoney
~ Mudhoney
is Jack Endino's 
