Mac McCaughan - Non-Believers

by Dave Goodwin

published: 8 / 6 / 2015

Label: Merge Records
Format: CD

Fabulous synthesizer-driven 80's-influenced alternative rock on debut solo album from Superchunk front man, Mac McCaughan

Review

'Non-Believers' is Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan's debut album under his own name. According to the man himself, he wanted to use the album to explore his attraction to that early 80's era of music when punk evolved into something more introspective and eventually turned into post-punk and new wave. He has done that well. Very well indeed. 'Non-Believers' reveals a fascination with art that, while made by someone many years away from it,` still shares many of the frustrations and much of the awkwardness of youth. “The irony that comes with being 16 and having a car but not knowing where to go in it, or having a keyboard or a guitar and not knowing how to play it," says McCaughan. "What appeals to me is songs that deal with the messiness and ambiguity that come with any transitional period.” Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan was born on July 12, 1967 and is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. Apart from his exploits with Superchunk, he has also released since the early 1990s numerous solo albums under the moniker of Portastatic. In 1989 he founded the independent record label Merge Records with Superchunk collaborator Laura Balance, which gave rise to Arcade Fire. It seems strange then that this solo debut comes so late on in his musical career, and one would think that it would be predictably guitar driven. 'Non-Believers', however, finds McCaughan exploring drum machines and synthesizers. On it he mixes together the 80's obscure beats of the Cure, the almost disco-ish twinkling's of New Order and OMD's brash pop with a sort of 90's indie rock. 'Your Hologram' is angled straight from the 80s, and is a mid-tempo tribute to isolation and detachment. If you like melancholy and gloom in your music, you will adore this. "'Real Darkness' is born out of ringing, jangling guitars, a stuttering drum machine and ice-cool synths, while 'Our Way Free' trundles along like a bee stuck in second. That perhaps sounds a little derogatory but it is not. It has a wonderful humming sound. If you are wondering if McCaughan has fledged his indie wings altogether, fear not as the Superhunk vibe lives on in 'Box Batteries'. 'Barely There' skips along neatly and, full of bounce, is like one of those 80's hits you heard back in the day. McCaughan's expertise song craft is that convincing he will have you pressing the rewind button in your Delorean time and time again. Marvellous!