Never heard of Superchunk? You probably should have. As a venerable '90s chug-punk band they achieved modest commercial and critical success, but they may be more important in today's musical climate as the founders of the indie label Merge, which has recently brought us big bands like the Arcade Fire and Spoon.
With the massive piles of cash from this enterprise, you'd think the band would have quit making music. They certainly don't need it to pay the bills, but after 20 years together, Superchunk continues to soldier on.
Their most recent release, the first in several years, is an EP entitled "Leaves In The Gutter," which will drop on April 7 just before the band play at the Coachella Festival. The five tracks on "Gutter" all seem dated. This is an album that sounds like it could have been recorded in 1994 and kept in a vault to be sprung on the unsuspecting listening public in 2009. Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
If you're into mid-'90s punk/alternative rock, then the new effort from this old standby will be right up your alley. From the first ten seconds of the disc's first track, "Learned to Surf," we know exactly what Superchunk is about. Without any kind of foreplay, the song hits with a blistering guitar lick and never stops.
Every track is like this. The riff comes in and the band seems desperate to get to the song's end as fast as possible with as little meandering as they can manage. Then again, this is what '90s punk rock seemed to be about.
Lest you think that "Leaves In The Gutter" is merely generic, the band tweaks the formula just a bit. For instance, an extended guitar solo at the end of the song "Knock Knock Knock" seems refreshing after the frenetic pace and basic arrangements heard so far. Similarly, an acoustic demo of "Learned to Surf," which seems like a mere afterthought as the last track, actually helps to bring the album full circle and offers the disc's best musical experience.
This last track seems a fitting metaphor for what is successful about "Leaves In The Gutter." As it imitates the first track, it improves on it as well. After twenty years, Superchunk is doing the same thing. It's refreshing to see a band of this age who aren't trying to reinvent themselves. Instead, they're doing what they do best but just trying to do it a little bit better.
There isn't a lot of ambition on the disc, but the band seems to accomplish what they've set out to do. It's not a revelation, but the album is fun to listen to - a good backtrack for summer. It's formulaic: All five songs sound rather similar, but there's a certain comfort in that.
This isn't the kind of music in which you're going to experience every single tone and every word. Instead, this is the kind of album that you could toss in your car and drive to, listening to it several times over before you've even realized it.
If you're into mid-'90s alternative rock, buy "Leaves In The Gutter." It's a real throwback in a good way. If you're a more casual fan or you're worried about dropping your cash on a disc that only contains four original songs and a demo of one of them, then hop online and download either version of "Learned to Surf" and give it a spin. You'll be glad you did.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
