armchair cultural observation since 1995

Mac McCaughan releasing first solo album under his own name

10_404_404_nonbelievers_preorder_tee2

Mac McCaughan has been releasing music on his own apart from his band for years, but with his forthcoming album Non-Believers will mark the first time the Superchunk frontman and Merge Records co-founder will use his own name.

From the Merge website:

McCaughan wanted to use the album to explore his attraction to that early-’80s era of music when punk evolved into something more introspective, focusing on themes of isolation and eventually turning into post-punk and new wave. As he puts it, he was thinking about a time when bands were “using keyboards and drum machines to relate through their music a disaffection or alienation” from society, school, whatever.

Considering his output of albums under the name Portastatic, it seems weird to call Non-Believers a solo debut, but as a more consistent fan of his side project over the years than his main gig, I’m excited for its release on May 5 no matter what name is on it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.