Superchunk - “Everything Hurts”

When you think of Superchunk, it’s highly likely that their rip-roaring classics come to mind. The Chapel Hill legends are famous for pounding out fuzzy and melodic three-minute rippers, including “Hyper Enough,” “Precision Auto,” and “Without Blinking”. But frontman Mac McCaughan has shown that he’s just as effective when turning the tempo down a bit. In addition to Superchunk, he’s cranked out a few quieter and introspective solo records during his thirty-plus years of playing music. His 2015 solo release Non-Believers is where I really started to appreciate this other, deeply personal songwriting side of McCaughan, especially since I saw him perform songs from the record at WFMU’s Monty Hall. It was powerfully poignant.

On “Everything Hurts,” Superchunk takes a bit from the McCaughan solo canon, combining heart-on-your-sleeve lyricism with a more tempered sonic pallette. McCaughan recently shared a bit about the song’s background:

"In keeping with the theory that ten songs is the perfect length for a record, we had to take off a couple songs that fit thematically — who doesn’t have days when everything hurts or you feel like making a break for it?— but musically couldn’t find a spot on Wild Loneliness. Perhaps because they are more traditionally 'Superchunk'-sounding than the rest of the LP ('Everything Hurts' could be from Come Pick Me Up, and 'Making a Break' has What a Time to Be Alive energy)? Who knows! So here are these misfits from the Wild Loneliness sessions, recorded at home in Chapel Hill and mixed by Wally Gagel in LA."

Stream “Everything Hurts” below.

You can pre-order “Everything Hurts” (which will be backed by another track, “Making A Break”) on limited edition vinyl via Bandcamp. It’s also available to stream on Spotify.