I Hate Music follows Majesty Shredding in more ways than one. Not only is it Superchunk’s first full-length in three years, it maintains the same inspired momentum—even when it sputters out here and there, it does so gracefully.
Superchunk have made a record that ties experience to the present, instinct to wisdom, youthful vigor to aged knowledge, everything in the world to a passion for music.
I Hate Music’s sombre subject matter, namely reflection on lost loved ones, gives their music a newfound depth and complexity.
This album is undeniable proof that creating something with resounding beauty is the ultimate defiance of death.
Now, less shy about their place in the world and shot through with adult resignation, the band's anthems play as a sort of mortality blues. But with I Hate Music, Superchunk prove that we were weren't wrong to believe.
Both Majesty Shredding and I Hate Music show how a band can grow up gracefully without sacrificing the energy and feeling that youth brings, while also adding some wisdom and emotional heft at the same time.
Even with things sounding a little shinier, and the members a little more sage, Superchunk has not lost a step.
Once you learn where the songs are coming from, the sad lyrics are sadder, the happy lyrics more wistful.
Its verve and passion and inescapable connection with the world of music suggest that Superchunk's second innings has much more to come.
Superchunk are prize fighters who've been beat up, thrown out, and are anything but down. A pull-no-punches pugilist of a record.
Only the most jaded misanthrope could truly hate I Hate Music.
It doesn’t necessarily add a whole lot to the formula, which is maybe asking a lot of a band that’s been around for 23 years. By the same token, there are a lot of subtle wrinkles that should help it make its own mark in their catalog.
God bless Superchunk <3
Standout: Breaking Down
Favs: Overflows, Me & You & Jackie Mittou, Void, Low F, Your Theme, FOH, What can we do
Least fav: Trees of Barcelona
#7 | / | MAGNET |
#22 | / | Stereogum |
#45 | / | Spin |
#50 | / | Obscure Sound |
#66 | / | PopMatters |