Superchunk rolls into town next Thursday, and judging by their latest venture in infectious pop musicology, Here’s to Shutting Up (Merge), First Avenue should be expecting to party serious.
I remember first reading about Superchunk in some dippy teen-girl magazine circa 1993. It might have been Sassy before it actually became dippy, but you get the point. What’s worse, these kids originated in the 1980s. It is a testament to Superchunk’s craft and skill that the band has survived the It-lists of Seventeens and Sassys alike into 2001 while maintaining enormous shreds of pop-cred and dignity.
Yes, Superchunk continue to age gracefully and with one hand unshakingly on the pulse of what’s hip on the cool scene. As of yet, the band has ignored the synthesizer-pop sensation that’s sweeping the indie rock nation and guitars (jangly or otherwise) still account for the backbone of Superchunk’s sound. On Here’s to Shutting Up, orchestration is cleverly incorporated within this structure to create a more interesting soundscape, but the strings never dominate. Violins definitely kick the album’s first single, “Late Century Dream,” up a notch.
The mellow riffs of “Late Century Dream” give way to the spastic three-stroke drum intro of “Rainy Streets.” “Rainy Streets” and, later on the album, “Out on a Wing” are textbook ’Chunk. The predictable spastic flourish of guitar chords and the “ba-ba-BA”s abound, but it’s all in classic, good fun. “Out on a Wing” features a super-slick moog cameo. “Phone Sexx” sees the band exploring the exciting and sometimes treacherous terrain of alt-country. While a steel guitar paired with an all-out fiddle can be a quick vibe-killer, Superchunk adeptly folds such classic country instrumentation into a pop-friendly blend of acoustic guitars and dreamy vocals.
The alt-country bleeds into track four of the album as well. “Florida’s on Fire” begins with a deliberate but catchy guitar hook over prominent rhythm guitar, which gives way to a deliberate but catchy fiddle-hook leading to an all-out, tambourine-infused sonic party petering out into the melodic sigh of the fiddle.
Near the late-middle of the album, Superchunk really come into its own with two brilliant musical gems. “The Animal has Left Its Shell” blends dreamily-distorted guitars with an orchestral section (yeah, that’s right) and minimal backbeat, foregrounding sweet and poignant vocals. I would argue that this is the most sophisticated track on the album because of its brave touch of airy and refreshing simplicity. “Act Surprised” also demonstrates aural sophistication and offers a fuller, more palpable sound than “Animal.” “Act Surprised” shows that dreamy, orchestral pop does not have to be at odds with thrashing guitar solos.
The album ends with the bang of “Drool Collection.” Let me tell you, it is drool-worthy. The track illustrates what Momus might call a “folk-tronic” vibe, as two prominent alternating moog-notes haunt the sonic background of the track with a spacey sample of electronic noise dancing with the earthy acoustic guitar chords.
Wait a minute. Fiddles? Prominent orchestral sections? Moogs? Hey, maybe Superchunk is hopping on the trans-genre synthesizer express. If so, however, they’re bringing all of their well-wrought musical baggage along, and it’s going to be one Super fascinating trip.
