Superchunk: Press

Seattle News-Tribune '95
by Heather Stewart

Listen: strum-strum-grind-crunch-chime. Superchunk is stuck inside of music, dishing up gobs of vicious hooks and treating the populace to album after album of nonstop daily affirmations energizing enough to make you want to run up 600 flights of stairs.

Superchunk (Mac McCaughan, guitar, vocals; Jim Wilbur, guitar; Laura Ballance, bass; and Jon Wurster, drums) is a band formed sometime in 1989. Its members have become quite the indie rock veterans. Created in the Chapel Hill, N.C., college rock community, the band is a local legend. And Ballance and McCaughan are proprietors and founders of their own label, Merge Records. Some of Superchunk's first outings were released by Merge. Then the band signed a three-album contract with Chicago-based Matador Records (home Liz Phair, Helium, Pavement and Guided by Voices). Following the expiration of the deal, the band returned to Merge beginning with the 1994 LP, "Foolish," followed by "Here's Where the Strings Come In." The latter is the band's fifth full-length album in the past six years. During this time, the band also produced a shower of singles, compilation contributions, and two rarities albums including this year's "Incidental Music 1991-95."

"Here's Where the Strings Come In" presents a very ripened Superchunk. "Here's" is full of enriched textures and hooks. Some of the more dramatic tunes, such as "Eastern Terminal" or "Sunshine State," are as draining as they are consoling, while plenty of traditional Superchunk pop anthems anxiously wait to send legions of teens into a pogo-dancing frenzy. With each release, Superchunk keeps the music novel without drastically altering its niche. Ballance recently reflected on the current state of Superchunk. "In some ways I guess there's more pressure, but I feel less pressure," he said. "(Being in the band) is much more relaxed. I think when we first started out I'd be much more upset if we played a bad show than I do now. It's like, 'Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.'"

But nothing lasts forever, even if your band is one of indie rock's largest commodities. Ballance agreed: "I think as a band we won't be able to keep playing like this forever." Then he pauses to point out, "With Merge I feel like it could be around a lot longer." On the subject of the lethally mundane band-life routine (record album, release album, do press, tour, do more press), Ballance feels the only healthy choice is to continue. "The way that music is these days, if you're not around for your chance, that's it. I feel like if we took a break now we'd disappear off the ... map." Currently touring the country in support of "Here's," Superchunk will pass through town this week, playing an all-ages show Wednesday in Seattle at the Sailors Union of the Pacific Hall. The show will be something not to miss. Especially with one of few bands left determined to book all-ages dates while on tour.