Superchunk - The Scala, London – 1/12/11
4/5
By: Jonathan Falcone
This is Superchunk’s first UK show for 11 years, and whilst for many this will be the first time seeing the cult DIY pop rulers of the indie-spheres, others have clearly towed their boat to their tanker in globetrotting fandom for an age. Tonight, the band impress both with the way old songs and sounds have stood the test of time, but especially with the way songs from this last year’s Majesty Shredding sit on par, if not above the tremendously high quality of their back catalogue.
Whilst Superchunk is undoubtedly one of the finest guitar bands to have come from America, their other history is also of note, as front man Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Balance are founders of Merge Records, and indie label fan’s wet dream housing the likes of Arcade Fire, Neutral Milk Hotel, Dinosaur Jr, Versus, She & Him and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead over the years, to name a mere few. This is a significant show for many reasons.
As they open with ‘Throwing Things’ it becomes clear that their classic mix of pop guitar hooks and angst ridden, distorted chords with Mac’s deliberately strained vocal style hasn’t aged a day. Followed with the tempo lift of ‘My Gap Feels Weird’ the full pop reverie becomes clear, as well as the band’s ongoing ability to write perfect, heart-breaking, pop tunes, played as if they were still those pining teenagers, even if pin-stripe shirts now pair with Converse All Stars.
As the songs progress it’s also clear that the audience are eager to stage dive, so whilst ‘Crossed Wires’, the gentler ‘Hello Hawk’ and probably their purest pop song to date, ‘Rosemary’ have the audience nicely in simmer, ‘Learned To Surf’ gets people on shoulders and an onslaught of divers, resulting in one crowd surfer taking a rest on stage.
It’s clear that there’s an ongoing love for what they do in the way they play. Having formed in 1989, there’s no lack of energy or contentment in their performance. The audience is thanked profusely, the band are like hawks on audience members’ obscure band tees, and the whole thing is a bit of an indie fan convention. Closing with ‘Everything At Once’ before a double encore it’s the boundless energy of ‘Hyper Enough’ and anthemia of ‘Slack Motherfucker’ that make the crowd lose it, the audience providing the response to the chorus of “I’m working, but I’m not working for you/Slack motherfucker.”
It’s not every day a genuine piece of indie musical history plays a show, and even rarer a show that rocks as hard as this one.
Artists in this article: Superchunk
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