Superchunk Continues To Get Better With Age

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 4, 2013 4:00PM

Superchunk has had one of the more remarkable late career resurgences we've witnessed. They came into existence near the end of the '80s full of spit and adolescent drive and the rallying cry of "Slack Motherfucker!" Through the early '90s they maintained a high quality of music, even as they took time between records, the volume quieted and the tempo slowed as the band grew older. The band opted to remain largely quiet for the first decade of the 2000s before returning with the stunning Majesty Shredding, an album that found the band charging ahead with a youthful power harkening back to their early days with zero notes of sentimentality or the whiff of nostalgia. They toured behind that album and this writer was lucky to see them a few times and can affirm that the new energy is only amplified when they hit the stage.

Their latest releases, I Hate Music, sees the band finally looking backward and beginning to examine their own mortality through a number of filters, but this is no Songs For Drella. We've rarely heard such a high powered tune dealing with death as the indelibly catchy "Me & You & Jackie Mittoo. And the barely-over-a-minute long "Staying Home" proves the band can still out-punk just about anyone on the planet. The LP has a few more mid-tempo numbers than its predecessor, which lends the album an interesting dichotomy between youthful turbulence and the kind of wisdom that only comes with age and after being honest with yourself about just where you fit in the world. Mostly though, I Hate Music just shows a band that is still at the peak of their powers and putting out timeless music without sounding like an oldies act aping a previously successful sound. Everything about Superchunk is immediate and honest and proof that you can grow up without selling out.

Superchunk is in town this weekend to play A.V. Fest/Hideout Block Party and their set is not to be missed. As we said earlier, this is a band that as good as they are on record are even better live. Unfortunately bassist Laura Ballance is not touring with the band, but in her stead Chicago's Jason Narducy will hold down the bottom end. Narducy has been playing recently with Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster as Bob Mould's backing band so we already know this rhythm section is set to play in lockstep behind guitarist Jim Wilbur and singer / guitarist Mac McCaughan. It should be pretty great.