While I listen to that Supreme Clientele 2 that’s out now by Ghostface Killah, I figured I’d offer up reviews by a couple of artists here as well. Cheers!

SUPERCHUNK – SONGS IN THE KEY OF YIKES

You think back to a band’s debut or a song that defined it, and that’s when reality hits you right in the head. “Slack Motherfucker” was 35 years ago, but everyone bounced to it when the band kicked out the proverbial jam. The song was off the band’s debut self-titled album, released back in 1990. It’s safe to say we’re living in a time when coining new words or phrases is acceptable, so yes, North Carolina’s Superchunk just might fit the bill of Classic Indie Rock. With certainty, a list will probably form soon.

While the band has survived the test of time alone, its membership has shifted, which many may not have expected, but then again, they did. Longtime drummer Jon Wurster exited the band back in 2023. However, you can still find him on Instagram sharing memes (but he continues drumming, contributing to Bob Mould’s fantastic Here We Go Crazy, and has also worked with The Mountain Goats, Robert Pollard, and many others.) Enough of that though, this is about Superchunk, who jump back in the fray with its new Songs In the Key Of Yikes (Merge Records) after 2022’s Wild Lonliness. Alongside Mac McCaughan, Laura Balance, and Jim Wilbur since  2023 is Laura King, filling out drums and backing vocals. With the new album, Superchunk seems to do what it does best after decades of honing its songwriting skills.

Throughout the new album, we get furious melodies and pop hooks, literally from beginning to end. It starts with “Is It Making You Feel Something,” which delivers everything tenfold as the band’s control efforts are relentless, as Mac’s signature vocal whine captures the essence of it all. Mind you, it isn’t a diss, it’s just a fact. While he’s never had the perfect voice, he’s utilized it to his and the band’s advantage. The melodies are furious as I mentioned, and it’s turned up on the frenzied “Bruised Lung” where guitars roll all around the rhythm, and Mac, well, his voice is perfectly nestled within the mix, and you might tend to hear something new every time you listen to it. The song is dynamic and probably one of the best songs ever written, recorded, and performed!

Superchunk has rarely ever tripped up as far as songwriting goes, allowing songs to breathe and take on a life of their own. “Climb The Walls” is a good example as instruments walk briskly along musical sidewalks clear of debris, churning out some thick riffs atop rhythms that are friendly & easy going, with a closing occasional guitar solo. It’s a maturation of sound & skill. Even the quieter moments like “Cue” are completely unassuming, but with a melody that’s quick to reel you in. It’s a slow build, but when it happens, the rhythm doesn’t change; it charms us all, never relinquishing its grasp. Now with “Everybody Dies,” I’m reminded that music isn’t always what it might seem, and with its upbeat rhythm, distorted guitars, and chewy melody, it’s offset by Mac’s lyric,s which are darkly hued. In his story here, yeah, everybody dies.

It’s easy to succumb to Superchunk and its clever use of melody with Mac at the helm, and on Songs In the Key Of Yikes, which will never be confused with Stevie Wonder’s album of a, um, similar name, is a laid-back, punchy power grab that moves with ease. Come on, Superchunk doesn’t always need to move at a pace filled with fervor; the band knows how to write songs that will capture your attention at every turn. While I’m always in for the chaos, there’s no mayhem here, just beauty.

GREG FREEMAN – BURNOVER

Nostalgia. That’s where we’re living right now, the only difference is we have the world at our fingertips and watch the world burn in real time. But again, nostalgia is probably what many long for, as the only news we want to see or hear about is in the paper or on television at 6 PM. Two forms of media that no longer seem to be viable options which have been replaced by YouTube and social media. But that’s ok.

Some creatives are intriguing, and Greg Freeman is one of those. Now I don’t think he’s attempting to capitalize on art that sounds similar to what he creates, I honestly believe the music he makes comes from the deepest reaches of his soul, the deepest Jacques Cousteau’s ever been. As I listen to his sophomore full-length release Burnover (Transgressive), for a moment, I’m teleported back to 1994, living in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn for $600 a month. I digress slightly. I get that mainly from the opening “Point And Shoot,” where his voice cracks and shivers underneath a hotbed of indie rock prowess, with clean and clear instrumentation as guitars seemingly collide into one another as a piano plays along reverently. The song is powerfully delivered, and it’s Freeman’s way with words – metaphors and similes – that garners my attention. When he sings “I was lost like a little child in a wilderness where the wilderness was way too wild,” his words resonate; poetry in motion.

With “Salesman,” Freeman and his cohort of musicians fleshing it out create a sonic explosion of sound that’s delicate, loose, and powerfully engaging with strings and guitars playing the same melodies note for note at times. Wait, are those horns tossed in the mix? There’s so much going on, but it works effortlessly. That’s the magic right there. But Freeman’s not adverse to rocking out, and we hear that on “Gulch,” filled with stormy rhythms & distorted guitars floating all around, utilizing melody & dissonance at the same time. There are moments where you might think you don’t know where he’s going which “Rome, NY” seems to do as it starts, but a melody soon forms around it, and the clinking piano might remind you of Billy Joel tinkering away in the background, but Freeman cleverly utilizes it as things quiet down. The backing harmonies though, this is what it’s all about; it even has my head nodding like there’s a bobblehead on my shoulders. While there may be some Americana strewn across the album, Freeman surpasses the idea that he’s simply one thing, as the title track can attest to. Sure, there are semblances of it here, but he’s a killer, a killer songwriter, highlighting it with pop punctuations. The piano notes across it are perfectly placed alongside the bending guitar notes. It’s as gorgeous as anything can be.

Greg Freeman does a lot within Burnout, some things even I didn’t imagine. That’s something anyone can do though, so long as they’re a masterful songwriter like Greg Freeman.