Some bands mellow with age, as their youthful fury gives way to a more understanding frame of mind.
Mudhoney
are clearly not one of those bands. The grunge pioneers have long thrived on snark the way other folks require oxygen, but since they returned to the indie ranks with 2002's
Since We've Become Translucent
, lead singer
Mark Arm
has been more eager than ever to vent his spleen on the troubles of the world around him.
have rarely sounded as flat-out pissed off as they do on 2018's
Digital Garbage
, an album that's a clear reflection of America in the year it was created.
Arm
and his bandmates aren't afraid to aim at a bunch of big and worthy targets: the litany of right-wing disinformation ("Paranoid Core"), a culture of toxic greed ("Prosperity Gospel"), the mindset that produces mass violence ("Please Mr. Gunman"), the narcissism of social media ("Kill Yourself Live"), Christians whose views are not especially Christ-like ("21st Century Pharisees" and "Messiah's Lament"), and a planet that is struggling to rid itself of the people bent on destroying it ("Next Mass Extinction"). The vocal sneer that has always been
's greatest gift is used to superb effect on
. And while the songs tend to favor the punk and garage facets of
's personality rather than their hard rock inclinations,
Steve Turner
's guitar work is still gloriously dirty and bent, while bassist
Guy Maddison
and drummer
Dan Peters
drive this music with confidence and belief at any speed. (And "Night and Fog" and "Messiah's Lament" show they haven't given up on the slower, grungier stuff.)
isn't quite
's Great Protest Album, but as a reaction to a chaotic and divisive time, it's powerfully eloquent in its own grimy way, and it shows they can still sound like nothing but themselves without being tethered to the past. Come for the rage on
and stay for the rock. Both feel intense and purifying. ~ Mark Deming