Today I featured the first new music from Superchunk in 4 years.
Here's the info from Merge Records about the new music:
Wild Loneliness, recorded at home in North Carolina during lockdown and mixed by Wally Gagel
(Here’s Where the Strings Come In), is out February 25 worldwide.
“Endless Summer,” featuring the harmonies of Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake and Raymond
McGinley, is the first single from the album and is out today. A limited-edition 7-inch single on
yellow vinyl isshipping from the Merge warehouse now, and participating independent record
shops will carry an exclusive translucent lime green edition starting Friday. The 7-inch contains a
cover of The Glands’ “When I Laugh” (feat. William Tyler on guitar) as the B-side.
Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan on the new track:
“Endless Summer” was written on New Year’s Day 2020 which was unseasonably warm
here in North Carolina. Of course, by the time we recorded it, “endless summer” had other
meanings… The 7” sleeve features Roe Ethridge’s beautiful photos of broken beach
umbrellas which capture the vibe of the song perfectly.
In addition to McGinley and Blake,Wild Lonelinessfeatures guest spots from Sharon Van Etten,
R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Wye Oak’s Andy Stack, Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura, Owen Pallett,
Kelly Pratt, and Franklin Bruno. We gave an advance listen of the new album to poet and
Superchunk fan Maggie Smith; here’s what she wrote:
Like every record Superchunk has made over the last thirty-some years,Wild Lonelinessis
unskippably excellent and infectious. It’s a blend of stripped-down and lush, electric and
acoustic, highs and lows, and I love it all. OnWild LonelinessI hear echoes ofCome Pick Me
Up,Here’s to Shutting Up, andMajesty Shredding. After the (ahem, completely justifiable)
anger ofWhat a Time to Be Alive, this new record is less about what we’ve lost in these
harrowing times and more about what we have to be thankful for.
Superchunk embark on a North American tour in support ofWild Lonelinessin late February, and
tickets go on sale this Friday, December 10, at 10am local time. Laura Ballance plays bass on the
album, and the live Superchunk lineup will continue as Mac McCaughan, Jim Wilbur, and Jon
Wurster, with Jason Narducy on bass.
Superchunk on tour:
Feb 25 Winston-Salem, NC – Ramkat*
Feb 26 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle*
Mar 01 Washington, DC – Black Cat*
Mar 02 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer*
Mar 03 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel*
Mar 04 Holyoke, MA – Gateway City Arts*
Mar 05 Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club*
Mar 07 Toronto, ON – Axis Club^
Mar 08 Detroit, MI – El Club^
Mar 09 Chicago, IL – Metro^
Mar 11 Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl^
Mar 12 Atlanta, GA – Terminal West^
Apr 04 Seattle, WA – Neumos%
Apr 05 Portland, OR – Revolution Hall%
Apr 07 San Francisco, CA – Independent#
Apr 09 Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriet's#
Apr 10 Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom#
* w/ TORRES
^ w/ Wednesday
% w/ Quasi
# w/ Mike Krol
Critical praise forWhat a Time to Be Alive:
“Yes, it’s a full-throated, unapologetic response to a united state of turmoil during the last year, but
it’s one of the most fun and contagious records Superchunk has ever made, too.” — NPR
“What a Time to Be Alive’s rage feels visceral because of age and experience and exhaustion, not despite it.” — Pitchfork
“noisy, tuneful, hyperkinetic guitar rock” — New York Times
“Superchunk have proven that they burn eternal. Thirty years in, they’re still giving us some of their best music.” — Stereogum
“the beloved North Carolina band summed up post-Trump rage and malaise as well as pundits ever could on the best LP of their career” — Rolling Stone
“What a Time to Be Aliveis the rawest Superchunk album since the band’s 1990 debut and
undoubtedly its most ferocious. The band’s well-honed style of highly melodic, punk-inflected indie rock remains, but with a serrated edge.” — A.V. Club