Superchunk - What A Time To Be Alive (Album Review)
Tuesday, 27 February 2018
Written by Ben Gallivan
Photo: Lissa Gotwals
There’s nothing quite like the slow death of a laptop. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, attempts one to four at summarising Superchunk’s new LP all went up in smoke, along with eight weekend hours. Still, they weren’t entirely wasted. In that time you can listen to ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ roughly 15 times, and that is a fine way to spend the best part of a day.
Modern technology isn’t something that Superchunk appear to have that much of an interest in, either. They’re still pumping out the same solid gold indie-rock that they have been plying their trade with for almost 30 years, and there’s no sign of it relenting.
The speed at which they are releasing records is relenting, however, and ‘What a Time to Be Alive’ is only their third album in 17 years. It's their first since 2013’s ‘I Hate Music’.
You would think, then, that they would have enough material for a triple album? They might well do, but what you’re getting instead is a little over half an hour of classic Superchunk. And that’s exactly how we like it.
All of the songs here are sub-four minutes (aside from closer Black Thread, which sneaks over thanks to a good 20 seconds of feedback at the end) and the standard is right up there. The current line-up - Mac McCaughan, Laura Ballance, Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster - has been gracing the sleeve notes for all but two of their 29 years, and it shows. They don’t miss a beat.
There are some bleak-sounding songs on ‘What a Time To Be Alive’ - Bad Choices, Dead Photographers, Cloud of Hate - that give away the dripping sarcasm of the LP’s title. The fact that their last album was called ‘I Hate Music’ suggests that a name is just a name, but here the band are deadly serious. Throughout, McCaughan rails against the government and the callous middle aged men at the top of the tree. “You broke the world that you’re not long for,” he yowls on Cloud of Hate. “You broke the world we’re living in.”
This is in no way a slur on the rest of the band, but Mac still encapsulates Superchunk. The nasal delivery hasn’t changed since Slack Motherfucker tumbled out back in ‘89, and the energy in his singing and playing here isn’t the sort you’d associate with someone on the wrong side of 50.
The title track has it all – it’s effortless, faultless, catchy - and there’s even time for a guitar solo to fade out. There are a few Superchunk specials along the way, too. Lost My Brain and Cloud of Hate clock in at under three minutes in total, but they both just have that signature hook.
A slightly disappointing closing track aside (they rarely seem to get that right – another tick for their consistency), ‘What a Time To Be Alive’ comes close to the bar set by their ‘90s classics ‘No Pocky For Kitty’ and ‘Indoor Living’. If that’s not a recommendation, then what is?
Superchunk Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Sun May 27 2018 - GLASGOW Stereo
Mon May 28 2018 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Tue May 29 2018 - LONDON ULU
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