SOUND BITES

  Superchunk's first act firmly established them as a band destined to fly under the radar; too abrasive to be mainstream but too prone to big power pop hooks to be accepted in the underground, their songs existed on the fringes of the alternative revolution of the '90s. By the time they'd gone through their formative period, signed with Matador, formed their own record label (the now highly lauded, longstanding indie imprint Merge) and gotten eight albums under their belts, the '90s had come and gone; with the terrible events of September 11, 2001 a fresh wound and diminishing excitement for the band, it was decided that a bit of a break was in order. Over the remainder of the decade, aside from the odd live appearance or compilation release, Superchunk went eerily quiet. Then, nine years after the release of their previous record, Superchunk began their second act with the more mature and surprisingly spry Majesty Shredding , kicking off the '10s with a most welco...

It seems like a lifetime ago, but Superchunk were once sullenly riding into the sunset. Here's to Shutting Up , released just a week after 9/11, saw the indie rockers soften their sound and mostly eschew their scrappy roots for pensive and emo-tinged songs of maturity. It was received well enough, but there was a sense of finality to it, a sigh of concession after over a decade of building a small, devoted fan base and yet not making their mark to the extent of their brasher, angrier contemporaries. Then, nearly a decade later, they returned with a new record that was no altered beast or contrived nostalgia grab, rather an assured and triumphant resumption of services. Majesty Shredding was followed three years later by I Hate Music , a darker shade for the band that tackled both mortality and music itself (the main takeaway being that, as many memories are made with music, it can't bring back the ones we've lost). Since then, through the occasional show and/or single,...

SUPERCHUNK Me & You & Jackie Mittoo From: I Hate Music Released: August 27 That it took a 90's alt-rock revival to get people talking about Superchunk is a borderline travesty; much worse bands had massive success in the 90's while Superchunk released a slew of great singles and albums that went largely unnoticed outside of the fringe culture. Still, better late than never, and it certainly doesn't hurt that Superchunk's last couple albums have matched (hell, maybe even surpassed) the quality of their "heyday" output.

Stream Superchunk's new album here , courtesy NPR. It's been a long, slow summer with regards to substantial rock releases, even more so than suggested by a history of long, slow summers. As an out-of-control music whore with an out-of-control CD buying habit, I haven't bought a new release since Queens Of The Stone Age's ...Like Clockwork . That's about to change as what I playfully call the "fall shopping season" gets an early jump start over the next few weeks, with new platters from heavy hitters Avenged Sevenfold, Nine Inch Nails and Arctic Monkeys arrive on shelves before fall even officially gets under way. Even before those, there's the tenth album from perpetual fringe heroes Superchunk, I Hate Music . Making some of the most satisfying crunch pop to ever burst from speakers for over two decades, Superchunk rarely fail to give their listeners the warm and fuzzies, and I Hate Music happily won't disappoint those who have waited pat...

Okay, fair enough; we've all had our gripes with Billy Corgan over the years.  His solo album was garbage, so he resurrected the Smashing Pumpkins name; this seems to be the main point of contention for most.  And, now that Corgan's the only remaining original member, it's all too easy to write Oceania off as a cash grab, a desperate last ditch effort to rake in some dough on the legacy of past successes.