Circling Around: A Quick Review Of The Sound Of Yourself, The New Album From Mac McCaughan (Superchunk)

A listen to The Sound of Yourself, the new solo album from Superchunk singer Mac McCaughan might prompt quips about someone playing Disintegration a lot, but the reality is more nuanced. Sure, this latest record from Mac reveals stylistic risks taken and rewarded, but it's somehow more important to say that the Merge Records release stands on its own, apart from one's considerable love of Superchunk, or appreciation of the influences Mac's sharing with us here.

While elegant opener "Moss Light" benefits from the contributions from Mary Lattimore, the following title cut serves as a reminder of the era in which McCaughan came of age. And while Chunk (then Superchunk) were making a raucous noise way back when, it's apparent that the contemporary textures of New Order and Cure records from the late Eighties stayed with Mac given the lush sheen of "The Sound of Yourself", a highlight here on the album of the same name. Elsewhere, the plaintive "Burn a Fax" is bookended by the Roger Eno-ish "36 and Rain" and "Gen Ash". "Circling Around", the one number here that features a familiar Superchunk-like hook, and Portastatic-style production, succeeds thanks not only to McCaughan's winning vocals, but assists from Michael Benjamin Lerner (Telekinesis) on vocals and drums.

Mac McCaughan is to be praised for how consistent The Sound of Yourself is, offering proof that the guy is capable of something as deliberately perky as "Sleep Donor", or as serene as the Sakamoto-like "R Dream", a composition as far from Superchunk as a distant moon. Throughout all of The Sound of Yourself, we're hearing a guy stretch, often to grasp at a style usually out of reach. That McCaughan succeeds so much here is truly impressive, and I'd urge folks to get lost in this one. The Sound of Yourself is quietly adventurous, and one of the best things Mac McCaughan's been a part of outside Superchunk in ages.

The Sound of Yourself is out on Friday via Merge Records.

[Photo: Oona McCaughan]