Mudhoney
left no doubts as to how they felt about life in America under the reign of Donald Trump on their 2018 album
Digital Garbage
, one of the angriest and most explicitly political releases of their career. Roughly a year after
came out,
issued a follow-up EP,
Morning in America
, which confirms that 12 months haven't done a thing to make them feel better. Most of the seven songs on
were outtakes from the
sessions, including an alternate version of "Kill Yourself Live" (here titled "Let's Kill Yourself Live Again"), an English-language cover of
the Leather Nun
's "Ensam I Natt," the rare 7" track "Vortex of Lies," and a re-recorded version of "One Bad Actor," which first appeared on a split single with
Hot Snakes
. If this is a smaller dose of rage than
, it's no less powerful and stings just as much. If anything, the title track charts an emotional landscape darker than anything on the album as a nation sinks into its own self-loathing, and the slow crawl of "Vortex of Lies" communicates a profound disgust as they call for listeners to fight the power. So if you're a fair-weather fan who wants to groove to something like "Touch Me I'm Sick" or "Let It Slide," this might be a bit strong for your tastes. But this music sounds as fierce and committed as anything
ever committed to plastic, and
Mark Arm
's righteous sneer and
Steve Turner
's weaponized fuzz are at full strength on this material. It's not exactly "We Shall Overcome," but these guys are saying what they mean as much as
Pete Seeger
ever did, and they happen to rock a lot harder while they're at it. Crank it up at your next voter registration drive. ~ Mark Deming