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They may not be the hippest band around in 2010 but they sound as fresh and important as they did in 1990, 1995, or 2001, and Majesty Shredding is the kind of album that'll make you glad to be a fan of indie rock.
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Much of Majesty Shredding seems to concern the importance and difficulties inherent in maintaining a fantasy life as you get older, but it's not a morose or self-involved album. Instead, they've made a total wheelhouse record, and a very good one.
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UncutListening to the ramalama of "Slow Drip" and "Hot Tubes" you can't help but cheer them on. [Nov 2010, p.102]
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Majesty Shredding is a great reminder of the legacy that the band had long since cemented. With his typical aw-shucks swagger, McCaughan himself puts it best: "Yeah, we're back where we belong."
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It's an unassumingly great record that exists solely to celebrate the pleasures of making a gigantic, melodious racket.
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No youngsters this side of Arcade Fire (who record for the Chunk's Merge Records) articulate ambivalence with such skill or heart. Few even try.
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It could be said that a work as strong as Majesty Shredding cements Superchunk as an important band or a permanent indie fixture, but that's a bit of a misnomer. If anything this record is simply proof that Superchunk are going to make the music they want to make regardless of whether it fits into a modern context or not.
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Under The RadarThis pragmatic retracing of their heyday is a more than welcome return, an elixir for anyone who's missed the straightforwardly joyful noise of this indisputably seminal act.
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One of the most flat-out enjoyable rock records in a long time.
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Whereas other pop-punk bands revel in sheer stupidity, Superchunk conjure up a profound musical purpose and sense of wonderment from behind every goofy-eyed chorus and oversized hook line. It is bloody impressive to say the least.
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Majesty Shredding lives up to its name and doesn't waste much time catching its breath, and along the way Superchunk delivers something that used to be expected of the band: an album on which every song sounds as inspired as the next one.
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Majesty Shredding does favor a more thoughtful pace at times, opening up room for the occasional ornate sonic touch--a horn riff, decorative keyboard figure, even viola.
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All I did was press fast-forward, track after track. When that expectation of emotional articulation wasn't met, it brought up that feeling of outrage, as if somehow Superchunk let me down.
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Alternative PressShredding is more notable for its urgency and energy. Oh Superchunk! It's so good to have you back. [Oct 2010, p.117]
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With this latest effort, Superchunk have proven just that, and done so in their own insightful, rocking way and without compromise. All hail the kings (and queen).
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The thing is, despite their participation in the bustling, creative and innovative 90's scene, Majesty Shredding might just be their best album yet.
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Majesty Shredding is one of the finest rock records of 2010.
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The volleying guitars of "My Gap Feels Weird" and friendly ferocity of "Rope Light" signal a group with the same playful spirit that made its best work roar (see: 1994's "Foolish"), but with refreshed energy from a nine-year nap.
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Once the great indie hope of Chapel Hill, N.C., this band--Mr. McCaughan, the bassist Laura Ballance, the guitarist Jim Wilbur and the drummer Jon Wurster, who favors dense, thudding bass kicks--has recaptured its grasp on bright, puckish and punkish power pop with no apparent effort.
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Oct 28, 2010Put this against 1994's acclaimed Foolish or 2001's Here's to Shutting Up, and it stands on its own, a reminder that Superchunk is still doing it better than most new bands today.
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Infusing--as per usual--squalling, buzzsaw guitars and Mac McCaughan's high-pitched, emotionally-charged vocals with simple yet cerebral lyrics that turn commonplace existence into something sad yet (as the title suggests) splendid, Majesty Shredding--their ninth album--brings their sonic template fully into the 21st century.
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FilterOct 22, 2010With Majesty Shredding, the group toggles between what once was and where it wants to be, bringing back punk and infusing it with a whole lotta pop. [Fall 2010, p.96]
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Majesty Shredding is an energetic return to form for Superchunk, and they've retained the sound that made them indie stars on records like No Pocky For Kitty (1991) and Foolish (1994).
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Majesty Shredding is the band's first new studio album in nine years, vigorous and kicking, much more so than you'd have right or reason to expect out of a band this deep into their career.
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Apr 22, 2011The hoarse, throaty voice knows its consonants, and the lyrics are full of the everyday breakdowns most of us survive into midlife and beyond.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 10 out of 11
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Mixed: 1 out of 11
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Negative: 0 out of 11
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Nov 6, 2010
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Oct 12, 2010