By the time I had stumbled onto the musical world of Mac McCaughan, I was already aware of his prolific nature. Superchunk had four albums and a singles collection, and his record label had made the Chapel Hill early nineties a tighter scene rather than a collective of bands. At least, that is what we thought it would mean. How Merge has actually affected music is still at large. For over fifteen years, seventeen to be exact, the label has showcased some pretty good music.
This doesn't mean that Mac's music takes any backseat. Every time an idea sprouts, the Merge team is back to work promoting a soundtrack, album or live concept—usually under the Portastatic moniker. This particular recording catalogs the second collection of songs for Portastatic in recent memory—maybe even the third (but my mind is slipping a bit). This type of turnaround is usually reserved for the young and untested. Given the challenge, McCaughan could write more songs, meaningful or otherwise, than any of the youngest and brightest in popular music. However, it doesn't mean anything unless the songs are good.
As per the usual, the result is an average one. Some songs absolutely sparkle as an example of how to write songs around his talents and experience. Others are stretches of his means and self-aware diatribes against the invaluable and undefined outside world. Having done this so many times, it must be impossible to know the distinct line between reaching and settling. In this indiscriminate area, all of McCaughan's projects have lived. Constantly blurring the line between acceptable settling (Superchunk never trying to make the leap to majors, signing the non-hyped bands to the label due to interest not capital gains) and stretching one's bounds (I mean, how many interesting albums does one have in a repertoire?).
In the end, the most interesting part is, well, you can tell Merge, Portastatic, et al—just realized at some point that caring was for suckers. Produce the album, make the music, etc—just do what you like to do. Prolific or otherwise, McCaughan's legend won't thrive on Be Still Please, though maybe it should. If this were his opus, it wouldn't be so bad, I suppose. It's solid, somewhat dark, lacks pretension, and lives on that aforementioned line that so indelibly defines his aura. Better than passable, Be Still Please personifies pretty well. Being prolific and energetic should make Merge and McCaughan interesting for another decade—at least. |