Here's to Shutting Up
No longer the angsty early-twentysomethings of theTossing Seedsera, Superchunk have been moving toward the "grownup" classification in age, if not in sound, for a good half decade.Come Pick Me Up, the group's 1999 album, found them heading there musically, too, but it's withHere's to Shutting Upthat they've aced the growing-older-while-remaining-punk shtick. The band opens the album on an unabashedly adult-contemporary note with "Late-Century Dream," a midtempo tune full of percussion, strings, and vocal frills. They range through more mature territory, both musically and lyrically, in "Phone Sex," a pedal steel-accented tale of long-distance love in the age of planes, phones, and post-adolescent ennui. They paint a grim picture of life in the static, sweltering South in the blistering "Florida's on Fire."; And they venture into Tropicalia territory usually reserved for singer Mac McCaughan's other band,Portastatic, on "What Do You Look Forward To?," a reflection on the rigors of touring. There's not a song on the album that isn't wonderful, and most are even better. For you who loved Superchunk but felt it was nearing time to leave them,Shutting Upis just the album to renew your affections.--Sarah Sternau