IN REVIEW: Mac McCaughan - "Non-Believers"

It feels improbable that, over a quarter century after starting Superchunk (and Merge Records), Non-Believers marks Mac McCaughan's first proper solo album. Maybe it's due to the six records he's released under the Portastatic moniker; he's always seemed to have an outlet outside his primary group. Regardless, this is the one that gets his given name on it and, as such, it's an intimate and personal effort.

Non-Believers trades in the slacker guitar buzz of Superchunk's records for new wave synth pop, but it's not to the songs' detriment; in a way, McCaughan's songs have always skirted the edges of '80s post punk while working in some power pop aesthetic. It's not like he's U-turned on his own sound, and one listen to Our Way Free while mentally substituting the sputtering synth for stuttering guitar will make that much clear.

It's tempting to write solo records like this off as vanity projects, but Non-Believers feels like a natural extension of McCaughan's talents and vision. When it all comes together, as it does so beautifully on the pulsing, electric Box Batteries, the gloomy, goth-tinged Lost Again and the jangly, nimble Barely There, it's joyous.

I can't say whether or not Non-Believers will bring over any new converts to McCaughan and/or Superchunk, but the familiarly sharp songwriting and pre-grunge nostalgia ensure that the faithful are well rewarded.

May 5, 2015 • Merge

Highlights Our Way Free • Box Batteries • Lost Again

Comments

Year in Rock 2025

Alright, I've got some explaining to do. By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but: a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...

Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Sam Roberts Band

SAM ROBERTS BAND I Feel You From: Collider Released: May 10 Having already endured the breakout success ( Brother Down was Canada's it rock song of 2002), the tentative dabbling in the U.S. market, as is the rite of passage for all moderately successful Canuck artists (2003's debut We Were Born in a Flame was the best time to try; one of the best albums of the year, it made a small dent in the American mindset upon its release there a year later), the difficult, druggy third album (the aptly named 2005 disc Chemical City ), and the subdued creative step backward (2008's Love at the End of the World , aside from hit single Them Kids , was really kinda bland), it seems according to script that Sam Roberts would start settling in on his fourth album (and first with the band credited as equal contributors), Collider (you know, I think it was a bad idea to give me brackets). Well, as far as settling in goes, Roberts does and doesn't on Collider . W...

IN REVIEW: Rancid - "Trouble Maker"

As far as punk rock goes, it's hard to name a hotter hot streak than the trio of records Rancid cranked out between 1995 and 2000; the star making ...And Out Come the Wolves , the far-reaching Life Won't Wait and their balls-to-the-wall second self-titled album solidly positioned Rancid as leaders of the second generation of punk. It also preceded a period of slow progression, as Rancid would take eleven years to release their next three records. By the time ...Honor Is All We Know came in 2014, many fans (myself included) had to wonder whether or not this was the end of the road. Such concerns are handily dealt with on the closing track of the standard edition of their ninth record, the positively punishing This Is Not the End . Well, okay then, that's sorted. Now, what of this new record? What do we make of the use of their original logo on the cover, a logo that hasn't graced a Rancid record in 25 years? Is this a throwback to the band's heyday, a new begin...

SOUND BITES

Search This Blog