Review Summary: Riot of the slightly concerned.
Let’s begin by stating the commonly accepted truth: Superchunk are a prolific band that in their decade-spanning career are yet to release a real soul deadening dud. Now, have they been at their strongest in the latest years? That’s arguable. And have they ever been on top of anyone’s indie classics list? Quite rarely. Superchunk have always been that strange middle between hit pieces and cult classics, where all the ‘fine, but not exactly essential’ acts go. And now they are back with an album that feels not as a political protest, but more as a confused picket.
Do not expect a disaster, I would say. Do not expect a masterpiece either, though. Expect a catchy tune or two and ill-informed lyricism. Essentially, the opening title track reveals all the cards this album holds. It strikes with immediate punky instrumentation and relative catchiness, while the lyrics try to tell a story cloaked in social commentary, but vague enough to seem snarky.
”To see the rot in no disguise
Oh what a time to be alive
The scum, the shame, the ***ing lies”
Not a dull spot at any point of this record in terms of music. Even the slowest cuts are energetic and enthusiasm evoking, while when the fast playing kicks in, your fists just automatically fist upwards expecting your mouth to exclaim “Yeah!” The band’s punk roots are as apparent as ever. There is a certain melodic coarseness in the sound, but never too drastic to change the tone to dark and crushing.
But with all due respect to the group and to the freakishly fun music, the overall album has only a few highlights. Somehow, in spite of rapid play and good tunes, the band just makes it all blend into each other without leaving any space for the songs to really take individual hold. Outside of “Erasure”, “I Got Cut” or the softest cut, the closer “Black Thread” (and even in those cases it is questionable), the album’s flow is so airtight that it ends up sounding quite indivisible. Nothing just works separately; every track is dependent on one another.
So in the end, while still as naïve as a protest album can be, musically it is quite possibly at the peak of Superchunk’s nowadays performance. And given other older bands that decided to come together once again and celebrate the lack of celebration in light of modern day socio-political atmosphere (looking at you, Skids and Le Tigre), Superchunk aren’t the most disorganised. Still, the energy and the general consciousness aren’t all that matters and this album feels merely as a glimpse of what could be.
