Live Review
Superchunk, Smudge & Rolling Cowgirl at The Brightside
It’s been 30 years since US-based indie rock band Superchunk released their beloved fourth
album ‘Foolish’, which was their first album released by the label they founded together,
Merge Records (!). Merge Records has gone on to become an alternative powerhouse label
and was originally founded by Superchunk bassist Laura Balance and Superchunk
vocalist/guitarist Mac McCaughan in 1989, the same year they began the Superchunk
project. So, 35 years later Superchunk are touring Australia off the back of their appearance
at Merge’s 35 th anniversary festival in July, a few dates in Portugal and Spain, and then a run
of October shows in the US. Opening for Superchunk at the Brightside are a fresh-faced
local indie rock band named Rolling Cowgirl and the slightly more familiar faces of 90’s
Aussie indie sensations Smudge. Rolling Cowgirl are definitely a band to look out for in the
future, they’re all female, they have a killer garage rock vibe and they’ve just released a
single available to stream called ‘Gilded Frame’. Smudge rocked, particularly their cover of
The Lemonheads ‘Divan’. They last played Magandjin-Brisbane in 2016, a long time
between drinks and appreciated more so because of it.
Superchunk hit the stage around quarter past nine and Mac briefed the crowd on Foolish
and it’s 30 th anniversary, mentioning that it’s been thirteen years since Superchunk had
graced the stage in this part of the world. They tore straight into a classic with ‘Like a Fool’
and played through a selection of their work with a strong lean towards tracks from ‘Foolish’,
although they didn’t play the entire album – throwing in an eclectic mix of their other stuff like
‘Seed Toss’ from 1991’s ‘No Pocky For Kitty’, a particular favourite of mine. Superchunk is a
cool band that has been plugging away for a long time, their sound heard today harkens
back to a particular time in the 80’s and 90’s where punk was bleeding into the suburban
American garage rock and lending that Do-It-Yourself vibe that started the whole ‘indie’
thing. The suburban teenage angst of the late 20 th century is still fresh in Mac’s distinctive
vocal delivery and none of the feeling was lost. Superchunk played a four-song encore with
a notable cover of Sebadoh’s ‘Brand New Love’ and Superchunk’s first single ‘Slack
Motherfucker’. A pleasure to watch for people whose heart skips a beat at the thought of
seeing bands like Dinosaur Jr, Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh or The Descendents. So, people
like me.
Words by Matt Hall
Photo @macsuperchunk Instagram