Mudhoney: Superfuzz Bigmuff (1988) and Early Singles (1990)

This is, and probably always be, my favourite EP of all times.

If I were ever to go on Mastermind, my specialist subject would be a toss-up between Doctor Who and the Seattle Grunge scene of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. We should remember that the word “Grunge” was coined not from within the scene themselves but by the British music magazine Sounds, and originally covered a wider range of American sludgy guitar bands from places as far apart as Oregon, Texas and Massachusetts, but it has stuck as a synonym for the scene based around Seattle and it’s signifiers- the sludgy guitars, the lumberjack shirts, the Jack Endino production, even the Charles Peterson photos.

Not all bands quite fit the template but, for me, this EP (and early singles) by Mudhoney is where peak Grunge is reached. Absolutely no songs ever written will ever sound as Grunge as these, with Steve Turner’s guitars the sludgiest ever and Mark Arm’s voice sounding absolutely like the voice of a whole scene. And it’s an awesome sound that evokes so much for me. The songs are awesome- “Need”, “Mudride” and of course “Touch Me I’m Sick” will never get old.

Quite rightly, Mudhoney would never again sound quite like they did in these months of ‘88 and ‘89. But, for a while, they were right at the centre of everything.