Bitten By The Sound: A Quick Review Of The New Album From Split Single (Superchunk, Bob Mould, R.E.M.)

Jason Narducy brightened many an indie fan's mood with his concerts from home during the pandemic. He's also earned deserved praise for his work with Superchunk on the road, and his role in the band supporting Bob Mould. Now, with his newest record as the leader of Split Single, Amplificado, he's amping up his own brand of post-punk, and revealing how sharp his skills have become in lockdown. The help from Jon Wurster (Superchunk) on drums and Mike Mills (R.E.M.) on bass is nothing to sneeze at either, but this is Narducy's ship and he's at the wheel.

"95 Percent" roars like Nineties 'Chunk mixed with the Boss, while "Blood Break Ground" recalls the beefier numbers from the late Tommy Keene's more recent records. Narducy favors both power-pop and hard rock, and his sound ends up being a nice mix of both. "Bitten by The Sound", for example, is as catchy as something from Marshall Crenshaw, with heavy riffs that Mould would be happy to have crafted. Everything here on Amplificado has heft, enough that this is sure to earn as many comparisons to Cheap Trick as it is to Superchunk, for example. "Worry" and the heartfelt "(Nothing You Can Do To) End This Love" have a bracing way with the chords that recalls those times that R.E.M. was less than jangling, and that makes sense given Mills' presence here, but what Narducy brings to all these compositions is yearning vocals and a genuine enthusiasm that's rare.

Split Single again remind us that there's no shame in being as direct as possible, while being as loud as possible. There's nuance amid the rockers on Amplificado, sure, but if you want to simply crank this up in the car this summer, I don't think Jason would be mad about that either. In the way that his lyrical concerns are wrapped up in sharp hooks and crunchy riffs here, I'd say that this is Jason Narducy's most complex project to date, even if it's elegantly simple at times.

Amplificado is out this Friday.

More details on Split Single via the official website.

[Photo: Noah Sheldon]