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.
As previously reported, rock revivalists Japandroids have been releasing singles since February in an effort to appease their fans and fill the time until the duo can get back to some extended writing and recording. The new single "Heavenward Grand Prix" is set for a vinyl release on November 16 via Polyvinyl. Included is a b-side cover of PJ Harvey's "Shame".
With the past two singles "Art Czars" and "Younger Us" being fast and furious, "Heavenward Grand Prix" has a comparatively relaxed approach.The mid-tempo thump pushes the swollen guitar-drenched wall of sound; the waves wash over you rather than knock you down. The dual plaintive cries state "We don't have to be like they are...", but the delivery feels like it is already too late. With this kind of consistency, listening before buying is simply a formality. The vinyl versions are limited and sell out quickly, so jump on it.
In this era of music where many of today's grandparents were weened on The Ramones, The Damned and their late 70's brethren, the "punk" sound is no longer the echoing bullets from the revolution. Because of this history, we now have the "what was once unimaginable" hybrid called pop-punk. And let's be frank, most of that late 70's stuff would qualify as pop-punk today. If your band is pop-punk, it has two well traveled yet diverging roads to choose. You can take the lighthearted, innocuous road of snot-nosed good times that leads to oft repeated choruses and heavy play on commercials and CW shows. Lucrative, but only a shadow of what that stern monolith of what punk can represent. So, that leaves the less paved road of a deeper, more meaningful, even more "punk" pop-punk. The payoff is also huge, garnering the accolades of true punk fans, becoming a critical darling while ringing the cash register selling their tracks to car companies needing catchy, youth movement sloganeering.
Portland based trio The Thermals are seemingly at the cusp of this divide. Not on a major label, thus not subject to mainstream marketing, they have the confident sound and musical chops to make a big move for big cash. On their first three albums on on Sub Pop, they have honed their sound into a powerful force of speed demon thrills coupled with smart, distinctive vocals. Their high water mark hit in 2006 with The Body, The Blood, The Machine, an tellingly modern twist on biblical stories that centered lyrically on fear and religious obligation. It was such a success that their extended tour schedule didn't allow for their next album to be released for three years. A move to new label Kill Rock Stars and losing band members resulted in a less focused 2009 effort Now We Can See. Now with their fifth album Personal Life The Thermals possess a refined maturity with the new tracks while shedding more of their speedy punk signature from the early years. Punk rock doesn't always grow up gracefully, typically best implemented by the kids (I am looking at you, Green Day). The Thermals have a choice to make and the direction is yet to be seen on Personal Life.
Much of The Thermals' characteristics are apparent here. The power chords are still upfront, the bass and drums lay an assured path and the vocals are thoughtfully constructed, delivered and accompanied by the ooohs and whoas. So, what is different on Personal Life? In their earliest albums, The Thermals managed to capture pure, unrestrained energy in their music, whether is was religious topics on The Body, The Blood, The Machine or the unbridled speed on their 2004 LP Fuckin' A. In 2010, the songs are all well founded, yet carry the weight of maturity, for better or worse. Starting with the mid tempo grind of "I'm Gonna Change Your Life", The Thermals earnestly deliver their closest attempt at a confessional love song. This common thread continues on aptly titled tracks "Never Listen To Me", "Not Like Any Other Feeling", "Alone, A Fool" and the bookend finale "You Changed My Life". These songs deal with wholly adult issues, namely falling in love and the insecurity that is bares, but often does so with a deliberate restraint. This is a fledgling direction for The Thermals and it generally works. Yet, I cannot help feel that the passion is muffling on some tracks, making them less memorable and emotive.
There is some of that explosive energy to be found on Personal Life. Early release single "I Don't Believe You" and "Your Love Is So Strong" are the high tempo tracks and are where the band seems most in their element. Other impressive songs are "Only For You" and "A Reflection" where the intensity is palpable and comes through with that undeniable combination of crunching guitars and gritted teeth. When the pop and punk blend, it still is a force reckoning force. Personal Life carries a mature theme and is not too grown up to be an enjoyable record that never strays too far from the middle of the road. Without knowingly The Thermals long term goals for their music, hopefully that can translate to being the soundtrack for selling the latest hand-held device or moderately priced automobile. If not, there are some retired godfathers of punk that might want to cash in.
Scottish outfit Belle and Sebastian has been an inspiration to many beginning with their humble beginnings in 1995 as a university project to their genre-defining twee sound coupled with wry, pain-tinged lyrics to recently becoming a polished live band writing songs with a comparatively cheery outlook. It has been four years since an LP of new releases has been on the radar. After logging in tremendous writing and studio time, the date is set for their eighth LP. Belle and Sebastian Write about Love has an American release date October 12 on Matador. The first single "Write About Love" is available to the first 20,000 subscribers via the embedded widget.
"Write About Love" is following the more recent Belle and Sebastian trend of positivity in their singles. Featuring the guest vocals of the lovely actress, Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan, the new track has a persnickety lyrical thread tackling modern travails and pursuing life's simple joys over a 60's organ bridge, accompanying strings and an upfront production that will translate well to the stage. It is promising and unsurprising which should easily please Belle and Sebastian's legions of established fans. It definitely made me happy. Listen below and drop your email below for a free mp3.
Steve Mason is the former frontman for the touchstone artistry of Edinburgh's The Beta Band. Responsible for some of the best music of the 90's and directly influencing that era's mainstream Brit Pop surge, The Beta Band with Mason's ghostly vocals with always hold a special spot in my memories. Although he has also has side projects King Biscuit Time and Black Affair, Mason released his first solo LP Boys Outside in June on Domino Records.
After giving it a couple of listens, I am reminded of how I have such trouble enjoying the solo career of an artist after their band (that I loved) breaks up for good. The list is huge: Frank Black, Bob Mould, Morrissey, etc. In the given cases, there is always that missing element that can never be recaptured. Boys Outside definitely carries a Beta Band quality beyond his vocals, utilizing an understated style wrapped in a mysterious electronic/acoustic blended drape. It is good background listening that makes you sit up and pay attention not unlike that scene in High Fidelity. However, the content of many of Mason's lyrics are too upfront to be Beta Band quality, choosing topics that are well-worn and creaky, defining the innocuous, we-were-once-cool easy listening of Adult Alternative radio. Maturity, in this case, is not a strong suit. Still, this album contains value with song highlights "Stress Position", "The Letter", single "Am I Just A Man" and the title track.
Also, click on the link to download the track "All Come Down" for free.