at a glance...

Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC
Year Formed: 1989

Members:
Jim Wurster -vocals, drums, percussion
Mac McCaughan -vocals, guitar, keyboards
Jim Wilbur -vocals, guitar
Laura Ballance -vocals, bass guitar

Bands In The Family:
Humidifier, American Cousins, Spent, Glen Echo, Pee Wee Fist

Notes:
These guys have been playing "lo-fi indie rock" for so long that the term has become passe. Formed in 1989 in Chapel Hill, NC by Mac McCaughan (vocals and guitar), Laura Ballance (vocals and bass), Chuck Garrison (drums) and Jack McCook (guitar), the band has since enjoyed moderate commercial success and vast critical acclaim. After the band had released some singles on the McCaughan-run Merge Records in 1990, Matador put out debut LP Superchunk. McCook left the band after the release of the first album and James Wilbur was brought on to take McCook's place. Just prior to the release of the Steve Albini-produced No Pocky For Kitty (Matador) in 1991, Garrison left the band and was replaced by Jon Wurster. After finishing 1995's Here's Where the Strings Come In (Merge), Superchunk played the second stage at Lollapalooza with Beck, Pavement, the Jesus Lizard, Cypress Hill, Hole, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Sonic Youth. According to the Merge records website, the songs for Indoor Living (Merge) had to pass muster on a vintage steam organ before they could make the album, quite possibly a first for an album not made by Liberace. Now Come Pick Me Up (Merge) adds more musical complexity to consistently emotive and cathartic songs. In 1999 Merge Records re-released all of the albums originally released by Matador.

Fret not, your turntable is not malfunctioning, you're merely listening to "Like a Fool," the first track on Superchunk's 1994 release Foolish. And yes, it's supposed to be that slow. But golly, where's that falsetto coming from? Yup, that's Mac, alright, crooning away on the refrain. This delicate and sparse song sets the tone for this melodic, and pensive album. You're not reading the wrong review, I know full well that these are not the usual descriptors associated with Superchunk, but I feel justified in invoking them here.

Here Superchunk learn to use negative space, and the quiet in between the bluster speaks volumes. Sweet, clean, sustained notes are released into the air, free to flit around with other notes and disappear, rather than suffer their usual fate - a sound squashing by the next power chord. The band exploit this musical hang-time to imbue the vocals and guitar lines with a smidge more melodic and harmonic complexity than is par for the course. Not that those big fat chords don't stomp around here and there - they're let out of their cage often enough - it's just that their appearance is a little less predictable and consequently a little more dramatic. It's the musical equivalent of walking softly and carrying a big stick.

We're treated to some especially tuneful flutterings on "Keeping Track," "In a Stage Whisper," and especially "Stretched Out" where the bass line positively tickles the ear. If you're worried that they've completely forgotten to rock, rest assured you'll find some of that too, on "The First Part," "Water Wings," and the winner for possibly the longest Superchunk song title ever, "Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything."

But if truth be known, I don't listen to this record when I want to rock out. For that, I grab On the Mouth or No Pocky for Kitty. This is a different listening experience in terms of songwriting and attitude in general. The best aspects of this album coexist in the gem "Driveway to Driveway" - reason enough to add Foolish to your record collection. The bright, catchy electric lead riff is rounded out with a mellow, rich acoustic guitar that conveys the sense of loss and disenfranchisement explored on the record. It's the kind of song that ends up on every darned mixed tape you make, and it sounds just as good every time.

If you like Superchunk, check out:
Superchunk Come Pick Me Up
Superchunk On The Mouth
Beulah Handsome Western States
Sebadoh Bakesale

--Alexis Scherl

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