Superchunk
Come Pick Me Up (Merge)
by Dave Liljengren
Superchunk and their label, Merge, both celebrated their 10th anniversaries this summer. I begin to hear an ominous churchbell when discussing the histories of indie rock standard bearers in terms of decades. For whom does the bell toll? Well, it will one day be tolling for me, and I guess I can accept that. It may already be tolling for guitar rock, but I remember a vintage version of that familiar whine being served on every critic’s table at the end of the ’80s, so I guess I’m not ready to either believe or accept that. And after imbibing huge drafts of Superchunk’s new little pick-me-up CD called Come Pick Me Up, my mood is sufficiently elevated that I no longer worry about death or the future of rock’n’roll.
Superchunk’s ten year journey from punk rock idealists to latter day think-poppers has not resulted in any perceptible lapses of creativity. They’ve always had the unteachable knack for crafting sturdy, melodic songs out of sounds that are just this side of jarring and well to the left of cliché. As entertaining as a barrel of bulldogs on every track, Come Pick Me Up is a strong work which channels the spirit of catchy Motown singles through fine singing and memorable melodies while undergirding such unadulterated popwerk with meaty guitar distortion.
“So Convinced” kicks off with a processed drum rumble before lead singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan takes listeners into Smoky Robinson tribute land with a haunting, testicle-twisting falsetto. Tasteful horns meted out by the dollop – a less obvious, but still quite effective, homage to the Motown sound – garnish such tunes as “Hello Hawk,” “Pink Clouds,” and “1000 Pounds.” String sounds sweeter than June honey ooze from the background, forming a syrupy counterpoint to the trebly, aggressive, guitar flow of McCaughan and bandmate, Jim Wilbur.
At its best, the Superchunk guitar attack is reminiscent of the piercing work produced in the early ’90s when Matthew Sweet was collaborating with Richard Lloyd. And that’s perhaps the best epigram to describe this work: “Come Pick Me Up is the album where Smoky Robinson meets Richard Lloyd.”
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