Super Tuesday Music Roundup

In honor of Super Tuesday and the lack of posts since May 20th, we here at HF are doing a Super Music Roundup, highlighting albums recently released. Lets do it:














Mudhoney - Superfuzz/Bigmuff (Deluxe Edition)
(Sub Pop)
Ever thought you see the day where a Mudhoney album was getting the deluxe reissue treatment? Get over the shock and rip this joint like it was meant to be played. The remastering job on songs from this Mudhoney classic roar to life. The low end held down by drummer Dan Peters and original bassist Matt Lukin rumbles like a Northwest thunderstorm with sheets of white noise courtesy of guitarists Mark Arm and Steve Turner. The second disc contains demos, a live show from Berlin in 1988 and a radio appearance. Don't be stupid, buy it.












The Black Angels - Directions to See a Ghost
(Light in the Attic Records)

If filmmaker Errol Morris ever decided to eat a fistful of mushrooms and create a documentary about the years 2000 - 2008 in the United States, The Black Angels' new album Directions to See a Ghost is the hallucinatory soundtrack to this apocalyptic tale. Building on themes introduced with their debut LP Passover, The Black Angels psychedelic stew of blissed-out tribal drumming, overdriven guitar, organ drones and vocals shrouded in reverb will transport you up river to a sonic hearts of darkness.














Mudhoney - The Lucky Ones
(Sub Pop)

Released the same day as the Superfuzz/Bigmuff delux reissue, The Lucky Ones strips away the horns and organ flourishes found on their last two releases and opts for a lean and mean approach to the songwriting. For another change of pace, singer/guitarist Mark Arm put down his axe and let fellow feedback enthusiast and guitarist Steve Turner handle all guitar duties. The result is a punkier and more punishing Mudhoney record that recalls the chaotic elements of their early songs with vocalist Mark Arm doing his best MC5/Stooges nasally vocal delivery. When it works, you feel can smell the stale beer and overheated amps. When it doesn't, you just hit the skip button to the next song.













Portishead
Third
(Mercury/Island)

Ten years after the release of their last album, Portishead return with Third, a wrecking ball of an album that destroys the downbeat/trip-hop template the band helped create back in the 90s with its classic debut Dummy. While the wait was too long, the resulting album will surprise fans with the patience of repeated listens. Beats and sound blips slowly reveal themselves in the film noir/cinematic song textures as vocalist Beth Gibbon's tortured vocals narrates our trip through personal, political and observed hells. At the end of the day, it's still Portishead and fans of the band's previous work will enjoy Third. Thankfully, they didn't wait ten years to give us "Sour Times Part 2".

Coming Soon: Reviews of Mudcrutch, My Morning Jacket and Vetiver.