Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Mudhoney’s second full-length album is a cleaner, somewhat moodier effort than their 1989 self-titled disc, never mind their world-stomping debut single, “Touch Me I’m Sick.” It opens with an ominous organ intro, and most of the songs have a rough but less blown-out sound than their earlier work, with some obvious studio polish. There’s even acoustic guitar on a few songs, most notably the epic “Broken Hands,” which begins with a bit of guitar noodling stolen from Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” and has an Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere feel generally. “Broken Hands” aside, the album’s 14 tracks are short, punchy and indebted to ’60s garage rock without feeling retro. A good riff, a driving beat, and a compelling vocal are timeless, and Mudhoney has always had all three.