Album Review

Superchunk will probably forever be remembered more for their independent spirit than their actual recorded output. The band was notable for vehemently avoiding major labels, going so far as to release their fourth full-length, Foolish, on their own, then quite small label, Merge.

Sur La Bouche, the latest in their download only live bootleg Clambake series finds the band touring the last album they would release for Matador, 1993’s exceptional On The Mouth.

Whereas Foolish found the band shifting gears a bit and exploring softer sonic options, On The Mouth is the pinnacle of the band’s manic, punk infused early sound. Their self-titled debut was a rapid fire statement of youthful anger and surprisingly smart songwriting. Their second LP, No Pocky For Kitty, only improved the formula by adding a handful of killer pop songs, (“Seed Toss,” “Throwing Things,” “Cast Iron.”) By the time On The Mouth came around it’s obvious the band was firing on all cylinders. Lead singer Mac McCaughan was writing so many great songs that they couldn’t even fit onto a single LP. Thankfully most of the leftovers popped up as b sides.

This live disc consists mostly of On The Mouth songs along with a handful of the aforementioned b sides. The set starts with one of the true unsung heroes of the Superchunk catalog, “Trash Heap.” The song is pure 90’s guitar crunch heaven with a killer melody that makes you remember why these guys were often tagged as “the next Nirvana” back in the day. Batting second is the rapid-fire “Skip Steps 1 & 3” which is played with ridiculous velocity thanks to the drumming of then recently acquired skinsman Jon Wurster. “From The Curve,” another On The Mouth dark horse continues the rock assault which leads straight into the glorious sludge of “Mower.” Mac introduces the song as being a “slow dance,” and the Montreal kids all got their slacker anthem for the night with the trademark “We say about these things / We have no idea what we’re saying” chorus.

Two b sides follow. The first is the actual song “On The Mouth,” which was left off the album. The tempo is a bit more akin to Bad Religion than Superchunk, but with Wurster pounding away on the drums, the band knock it out no problem. “Cadmium” is a more interesting foray. It always reminded me of a sped-up version of “Throwing Things” for some reason, but it has certainly stood the test of time. Especially the galloping “Hit Self-Destruct” finale. Following these two is “I Guess I Remembered It Wrong” which is performed with increased vigor when compared to it’s studio counterpart. As a straight up rocker minus the acoustic guitar intro it’s a full-on rager. After a false start, the very “grungified” “Swallow That” is thrown in as one of those mid-set breathing points. It probably served as an adequate smoke break for crowd members.

Two okay up-tempo tunes from No Pocky follow this, “Tie A Rope To The Back Of the Bus,” and “Punch Me Harder.” Then it’s time for the third slow-jam off of On The Mouth, the somber “Untied.” After this a true curveball is thrown when the band play “Let It Go,” the only song they would perform that night off their debut – surely disappointing the angst filled teens hoping to hear “Slack Motherfucker.”

The main set is wrapped up with “Cast Iron” leading nicely into another obscure track from the era, “Baxter,” which is apparently about a dentist. It’s an okay song, but it doesn’t even come close to the grandeur of the set’s closing tune, the almost impossibly cool “Cool.” And to think that this was just a b side! It just shows how back in the day it was really worth it to go out and buy those vinyl and CD singles.

The raging “Precision Auto” is the first song of the encore and is performed with appropriate intensity. The speed plug is quickly pulled when the band end the night with the somber “The Only Piece That You Get,” which would also hint at the shift in direction the band was about to embark on with their next album. Things would be slowing down a bit for the ‘Chunk.

As a whole this is an amazing document. I would say it show captures the band at their peak. The songs at this point of their career were incredible, the intensity of the performance is spellbinding, the recording is raw but well balanced, and the enthusiasm of both the band and crowd is more than evident. They may never have actually lived up to the “next Nirvana” hype, but this live set proves that Superchunk were certainly at the forefront of a very talented pool of bands in the early 90’s.

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