New Superchunk Album Out Today, Download The First Track Here

For any music fan, there will be those bands who can quickly take you back to your formidable years. For me, the memories of going to a piercingly loud show and coming home all sweaty, bruised and wired from the evening's events will always come rushing back when I listen to Superchunk. This Chapel Hill quartet started in 1990 and subsequently changed my ideas about live music with healthy handfuls of joyful chords, smartass vocals and guitar interplay that turned a fan's body into a wide-eyed, grinning projectile. Their first five albums (not to mention their singles and b-side collections) are a testament that blazing speed and witty lyrics can make a heady brew of alt-rock. Their subsequent albums took a mellow turn, losing Superchunk's punch and causing many fans (including myself) to realize that the dream was over. As their musical stylings became more grounded and the band members interests were focused on other bands Portastatic and The Mountain Goats as well as their label Merge, the new millennium contained only blips concerning a new album from Superchunk.

20 years since their self-titled debut, Superchunk is back with their ninth full length Majesty Shredding released today on Merge. After a quick glossing via NPR's First Listen series, it sounds like the good times are back as well as my past. Their freebie release "Digging for Something" is everything that Superchunk was two decades ago including a flinty production that was not in the budget for their early albums. The foundations and springing hooks are all there matched with a squealing guitar solo, reminiscent lyrics and a trumpet coda. Check it out below and, if you have the free time, blow the dust off 1993's On The Mouth and marvel at how well it has held up.

Purchase Superchunk - Majesty Shredding here.

Superchunk - Digging For Something


Superchunk - Skip Steps 1 & 3 (From 1991's No Pocky For Kitty)