Narducy had only two days of rehearsal with the band a few weeks before the tour opener in Calgary, Alberta, on June zo, but in many ways that fits the equilibrium Su- perchunk has reached. The last two albums have been recorded in pieces over time, DIY with McCaughan sending around a couple of songs, the band learning them quickly, INDEPENDENT and then going into Durham studio Overdub Lane to knock them out when every- THINKING one's schedule permits. "One reason these records are good is that we don't have to make them, so we make them when we want to," McCaughan says. "The new pres- sure now is more, 'Who knows if you'll make another record, so you better make this good because you don't want your last record to be crappy.'" As a result, success has a different meaning than it used to, when the band was central to the members' livelihoods. "When we were talking about the last one, we said, `Do you think it will surpass 8,000?" Wurster recalls. "And it surpassed that by a lot." For Wilbur, "success is coming home from tour alive. Because it's brutal. I'm older now. It takes a toll. Now we'll do the cities we do well in, and that's kind of it. In the past, we would do four shows between big cities, and that's not happening." While industrywide record sales have plummeted since Merge was founded, and the label's focus is on niche rock that grew out of record store culture, McCaughan and Ballance would argue that they've thrived because of, not in spite of, this. Fans of Merge bands still buy physical product, possibly even more with the vinyl resurgence, and Merge continues to offer it. "Every week I look at the total SoundScan for LPs, and lately we have 1.4%-1.5% of all LP sales in the U.S.," Ballance says. "That means that one out of every too vinyl LPs sold in the country is on Merge." "I don't like when people say, 'Now that people aren't buying music anymore McCaughan says. "The only way to survive is to get people to buy music in any for- "We've had 1.5% of all LP mat they want to buy it in, as opposed to abandoning one thing for something else." The best example of Merge's format -inclusive strategy is the "LP3": a vinyl release sales in the U.S. That means that includes a digital download, which the label was the first to introduce in 2005. Merge has also always had an artist -centric philosophy, originally avoiding con- one out of every 100 sold is tracts with the idea that grown-ups should be able to trust each other and collaborate at will. Now the label signs short t contracts of usually one to two records, and keeps the rights for only seven to to years. "It belongs to them," Ballance says. "We're es- on Merge." -Laura Ballance sentially licensing the album from the band." The hope, of course, is that if every- one's happy, they'll renew. In the past six months, Merge has also taken an important step in making deals for worldwide distribution. "That was always frustrating, wondering, 'Who's going to put out this record in Europe? Surely someone will pick up this great record.' And then people are like, 'Eh, it's not really right for our territory,'" McCaughan says. "We what feels right at the time, it has also worked for Superchunk. During the post -Nir- don't have to deal with that unpredictability anymore." Ballance also credits "Our vana alt -rock land grab of the early '9os, the band turned down major -label deals, Noise," which was released overseas, with growing the label's international profile. figuring it was better off with what was working. When "Our Noise" was published, When asked what an update of the book would include, McCaughan and Ballance the book's conclusion was that toot's Here's to Shutting Up was likely the last Superc- agree that aside from Superchunk's resurgence, Arcade Fire's Grammy and No.1 al- hunk album, as the group had been on an extended hiatus, content with playing the bum are the label's biggest achievements of the past four years. "That was a huge occasional show or releasing a single. There was the label to run; McCaughan was deal for them, and for us, and for indie labels in general," Ballance says. "Somehow Laura Ballance spending more time with Portastatic; Wurster had become a sought-after session now the major -label approach is not working as well as it used to, and there's more and Mac and touring drummer, joining the Mountain Goats and A.C. Newman's band. and more indie labels in the top to." McCaughan So zoto's Majesty Shredding came more or less out of nowhere, a blast of almost With Merge's z5th anniversary approaching in 2014, the label is discussing con- photographed at the Merge forgotten joy. Its high-energy, instantly singable tunes earned the band its first spots cepts for howto celebrate, but has nothing confirmed. One thing's for certain though, offices in on the Billboard zoo (No. 85), Rock Albums (No. 33) and Independent Albums (No. according to Ballance: Bucking another '9os-centric trend, "It won't be a cruise!" 0 Durham, N.C. 17), with 23,000 copies sold to date. "We were happy with how it came out, but if we had made Majesty Shredding and no one cared and the shows weren't good, then I don't think we would have made an- other one so soon," McCaughan says of the new album. I Hate Music is a very differ- ent record from Majesty Shredding. It has the Superchunk combination of loud punk fire and deeper -than -power -pop fuzz, but comes from a much more serious place that requires closer attention. "The last record was more about music, and nostal- gia," says McCaughan, who wrote every song. "And the new one is ... I hate to say this, because no one's going to want to buy a record if it's like, 'It's about getting old!'" He adds that it's about "death, loss ... friends. And also music still. What is the role of music in your life at this point?" "I hate music, what is it worth?" begins first single "Me & You & Jackie Mittoo." "Can't bring anyone back to this earth/Or fill in the space between all of the notes/ But I got nothing else so I guess here we go." The song's title references Mittoo, the Jamaican keyboardist for the Skatalites and Studio One who died at 42 from cancer, and though McCaughan is reluctant to say it, Ballance explains that much of the al- bum is a response to the death of a longtime friend. "It makes me really sad," she says. "Majesty Shredding was just fun. It was so fun to play those songs live, and I'm sure it will be the same for this one, when you get over thinking what it's about." Because there was a long stretch between the album announcement in May and the single in July, Merge premiered the buoyant "FOH" on NPR's All Songs 24/7 live stream on June 4, playing the song once an hour for a full day. "It's a good first song for people to hear because it's indicative of the feel of the thing," McCaughan says. Unfortunately, this summer's tour will mark a significant change-Ballance has decided not to go on the road with the band, due to a serious hearing problem called hyperacusis. "There is some permanent damage that just keeps happening, and I have an [8 -year -old] daughter and I want to be able to hear her," Ballance says. "At some point during the last tour I said, 'Listen, guys, no more small stages. I'll do big stages where I can get away from you.' We did a show in November at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, and we started to play and Mac's amp was so loud, I could not get away from it. I couldn't even play the first song." Ballance says she'll still record with the band if there's a next album, but for this tour, bass duties will go to Jason Narducy, who has played with Wurster in both Mould's band and Split Single.