Superchunk

Two guitars, bass, drums, vocals: If this does not excite you, then it’s probably been too long since you listened to a Superchunk record. Superchunk have been kicking up magic dust from the building blocks of rock ’n’ roll for more than 20 years, consistently releasing great music without ever making the same record twice. The band’s discography contains no high-concept stylistic departures, no disco album, no ham-fisted “return to rock.” Instead, each of Superchunk’s 10 albums is a timely and vivid document of a great rock band, and each strikes its own unique balance between melody and energy, sweetness and dissonance, ease and effort.

When Superchunk emerged from Chapel Hill’s nascent college rock underground in 1989, Mac McCaughan’s reedy, earnest voice seemed almost bizarrely at odds with the band’s punk rock bashing. And yet, in that tension, Superchunk laid bare the beating heart that many bands have tried to bury with distorted chords, crashing drums and strategic haircuts. Superchunk gave us blistering rock without posturing or pretense, an open invitation to sing and air guitar along without feeling like an enormous dweeb. The band hit their stride pretty damned fast, and have been hanging out there ever since.

As Superchunk matured, so too did the indie rock world around them. McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance co-founded Merge Records, a label that would continue to nurture unrecognized real-deal talent even as its roster grew to include much more profitable and popular artists like Spoon and, of course, The Arcade Fire. As “indie rock” suddenly became a potentially lucrative venture, Merge—and Superchunk—remained true believers in the fundamental power of good rock music. Even as Superchunk albums and concerts became less frequent, the band’s fans remained every bit as loyal and involved; once you get psyched about Superchunk, it is very hard to not be psyched about Superchunk.

In 2010, Superchunk released Majesty Shredding, their first record in nine years and quite possibly their very best. Neither grasping at nor retreating from the youthful exuberance of their earliest records, Majesty Shredding finds Superchunk unabashedly relishing their continued ability to make fresh, inviting and irresistible noise. Majesty Shredding celebrates how both playing and hearing rock music can still make you feel like a teenager, even when you’ve been doing it for 20 years. It’s a satisfyingly full-circle record for Superchunk, as McCaughan often seems to be addressing the squeaky-voiced kid who sang “Slack Motherfucker” and “My Noise.”

Less than a year after its release, Majesty Shredding feels like it’s been living in your brain for decades—not terribly surprising, considering that first-time Superchunk concertgoers can often be seen pogoing to “Detroit Has a Skyline” and “Hyper Enough” as if they’ve listened to these songs a thousand times. And, hey, from that moment forward, they will. —Matt LeMay