Mac McCaughan, singer and guitarist of Superchunk and co-founder of Merge Records, released his first solo album in May, titled Non-Believers — and it’s a blast from the past.
The first song, “Your Hologram,” begins with the sort of synths that Tears for Fear and Depeche Mode would envy. It starts off slow with long synth notes and then hooks you by dropping the rest of the band and picking up the pace to create a catchy melody. Synths are featured in a couple more of the tracks, but not enough to entirely tie the album down to an 80s throwback; the album references the style while remaining solidly in his voice.
There’s a sort of quiet desperation in each of his songs, a sort of longing for an intimate connection, that lends itself to his vocals. His voice has a scratchy quality that sounds unpolished, but is a unique and well-fitting sound for this album. All of the songs on this album focus on his relationship, or lack thereof, with someone else that is not necessarily romantic. In his second track, “Lost Again,” he discusses the feeling of not knowing who he is without his friend.
The key element of this album is its relatability. There is a song on this album that speaks to a feeling or experience that is universal. It’s about discovering yourself, losing yourself, and the difficulty of having personal relationships within a mixture of slow and upbeat tempos. Non-Believers is a complex empathetic deconstruction of the simple themes of life that is set to music.
This album has made me a believer in Mac McCaughan. I hope to hear more from him, whether in another solo album or with Superchunk.
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