Soul Asylum guitarist Dan Murphy was unaware why he was feeling so down in the dumps two weeks ago and then it hit him.

"I was really having a s--- week. I was in a really s--- mood and I didn't know why," he said last week from a tour stop in Chicago, just after an afternoon performance. "I'm a pops, so then I remembered that Father's Day was coming up and Karl had died the day before Father's Day."

The Karl that Murphy refers to and the one who spurred on the pre-holiday depression was the band's bassist Karl Mueller, who'd been playing in bands with Murphy since a pre-Soul Asylum garage band called Loud Fast Rules was formed in 1981 in Minneapolis. Mueller had been fighting throat cancer for years and died at his home exactly a year ago at the age of 41. The 22-year-old band was able to record one final album ("The Silver Lining," out Tuesday on Columbia/Legacy Records) with Mueller and Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson laying down the lines -- Mueller coming into the studio between chemotherapy sessions when he was physically able.

"I know it was really a diversion for him. Recording the record freed him from some of the struggles at hand," Murphy said. "Some days he'd come in and he couldn't play. Other days, he'd come in and he'd be great. He'd be smiling and laughing and we'd get five or six hours out of him. I'm really proud he had the wherewithal and the desire to do this.

"It's hard for (lead singer Dave Pirner) and me to talk about all of it because you get overwhelmed with emotion sometimes. We're kind of still in shock. It plays on your fragileness. It's just trying to work it out. The first shows we played without Karl were really hard. I have fond memories of Karl, obviously, and there are some songs -- like 'Runaway Train' -- that we literally played 500-600 times with Karl. When we play those songs, it kind of makes me feel a closeness with him."

"The Silver Lining" is the band's first album in eight years, the first since 1998's "Candy From a Stranger," the last album the band delivered to Columbia Records. Murphy said he feels like he, Pirner, Stinson and drummer Michael Bland are fighting the good fight by still getting out there and bringing the songs to the people.

"Not playing again was never an option," Murphy said. "He would have told us, 'You guys get out there and bust your asses and play the shows."

Times have changed considerably since Soul Asylum was last in the limelight, and the new record was not just the first that the band recorded exclusively in its hometown, but it was the first that wasn't recorded on 2-inch tape.

"We did a record in Miami ("Grave Dancers Union") and it kind of felt like we were out of our element. We were in South Beach and there they put a velvet rope around an Outback Steakhouse," Murphy said. "We were supposed to record 'Let Your Dim Light Shine' at George Lucas' place (Skywalker Ranch) with Butch Vig, but two weeks before we were supposed to go out there, (Lucas) lost a zoning battle with the city and the space wasn't supposed to be used as a recording space.

"I think we always wanted to make one more record. One year turned into a couple of years, which turned into Karl getting really sick. Dave and I took out a loan to record this record. This was compelling enough for that. It was nice being a little indie band again and recording for $6,000. It still sounds like Soul Asylum."

Soul Asylum

When: 9 p.m. Sunday

Where: Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach

Tickets: $20

Info: (858) 481-8140