Superchunk - Majesty Shredding

Merge
2010

What's up with everyone coming out with new shit this year? I'm not complaining at all, in fact I really really like it. Superchunk goes way the fuck back. I mean, this band practically invented indie rock back in the early 90's when they said "fuck it, we're going to make our own record label" and then Merge Records happened and lots of good songs were recorded released and distributed. It's been a long ass nine years since we all heard Here's to Shutting Up and saw this band opening for the Get Up Kids. I didn't really think it was weird at the time (I was only 16- jesus christ I'm old) but now I think I realize how fucked up that scenario was.

Anyways, I don't think we have had a proper good indie rock/pop record in at least nine years. I'm glad these (slack) motherfuckers came back to show all of us how we're supposed to do it right. This album rocks my socks off. It punches you hard in the beginning with "Digging for Something" and really doesn't let off with the pop hooks. The second song, "My Gap Feels Weird" feels like a weird song. It's like Superchunk felt like they had to make a math rock song, and it doesn't really feel right on this record. "Rosemarie" is a classic Superchunk jam and listening to it instantly takes me back to the 1990s (the awesome parts anyways). "Crossed Wires" is a really energetic rock song. Hell, most of this album feels really energetic, which is weird because most everyone in this band is at least 40 years old or older and haven't recorded anything together in nine years.

So I guess the hard part is comparing this album to the other ones. How does this shit stack up in comparison to Here's to Shutting Up or Here's Where the Strings Come In or any of that other stuff they released back in the 1990s when awesome music was coming out. It's really difficult to compare it all right now. I mean, this record sounds significantly similar to make me love it instantly, but I feel like it's missing some of the spontaneity that made Here's Where The Strings Come In so great. I think everyone is going to eat this shit up because, well, it's been nine years since the last album came out. I'm not saying it's bad, but similar to some other records I've reviewed on here (I'm looking at you, Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens and Broken Social Scene) it's been so fucking long since the last album let us down that we are ready for something new. While the last album these guys put out wasn't disappointing, it's been a long time and I forget things after a few years. That's how I was able to forgive Sufjan Stevens for his really disappointing live performance and love that new EP he just dropped like a bomb on all of us.

So yeah, shit's pretty good. I think 2010 is a comeback year. I'll talk to my friend Ian and see what he says, but I think I'm right on this one.

4 out of 5 steering wheels.