Superchunk: Majesty Shredding

"Back in the '90s, Superchunk was the alt-rock band everyone could agree on: The group's hyperkinetic live shows and catchy anthems made its stickers a fixture on beat-up vans everywhere. But in 2001, Superchunk went on hiatus and band members Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance jumped full-time into Merge Records, a little company they'd formed in 1989. Now it's one of the most thriving indie labels in the world. MacCaughan and Ballance have succeeded through restraint, keeping the staff small and the budgets sane — guiding principles that would bewilder most music execs. 'I have to be the hammer,' Ballance says. ... The result? Dorm room staples like Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and a worldwide smash hit with Arcade Fire's Funeral. This year is Merge's biggest yet, with indie Top 10 releases from Spoon, Arcade Fire, and She & Him. Even Superchunk is back, with Majesty Shredding, a record guaranteed to send your Chuck Taylors 3 feet in the air" (Brian Raftery, "Cheap Thrills," Wired, 9/10, p. 96).

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