For someone who has his hands full preparing for an imminent long-haul trip from North Carolina to Australia, Superchunk frontman and Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan is surprisingly calm and considered when talking from his Chapel Hill home.
"In fact, today I was over at the Merge warehouse picking up some records and such to bring over for the merch table," he tells us, "and trying to make sure that suitcase I bring fits Qantas domestic carry-on standards."One of the reasons for his relaxed demeanour – this is certainly not his first rodeo. While indie-rock legends Superchunk haven't been to these shores since 2013, co-headlining a huge tour with Neutral Milk Hotel, McCaughan has racked up plenty of miles on the road since, and across the band's 35-year career.
This current tour (Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth dates are already completed, with Sydney and Melbourne this weekend) is in honour of Superchunk's breakthrough fourth album, 'Foolish', a heart-on-sleeve set that might have captured a period in McCaughan and then-recent ex (and bassist) Laura Ballance, but still sounds incredibly fresh 30 years on.
"We've been working on new songs, and doing these kind of anniversary tours, which are really fun," he says. "Even though this is like the 30th anniversary of 'Foolish', we're not playing the album start to finish, because there are too many other songs we want to play from other records.
"So we play a lot of 'Foolish', but we play songs from all of the records as well."
Another treat for Aussie fans will be the impressive line-up of support acts, which the band selected for each stop on the tour. From '90s indie favourites Smudge and The Meanies, to exciting newcomers like Delivery, it's a considered mix that shows McCaughan's love of Australian music.
This year, the frontman and guitarist has been recording a series of covers of some of his favourite Aussie acts, most recently The Go-Betweens. He's also done his take on songs by The Church and Hoodoo Gurus.
More than merely pandering to local music fans, McCaughan has a long history with music from these shores, which he was first exposed to by US college radio. "I guess the first three bands that I really remember connecting with were The Saints, who were on a punk compilation that I got in the early '80s – of course, it had 'Stranded' on it – and then the Hoodoo Gurus and The Church, who I heard on local college radio here when I was in high school and then got to see both of those bands live," he recalls.
"Around that time, I think the Hoodoo Gurus were on their first American tour and they played this really small club here in Chapel Hill, the Cat's Cradle, which still exists but now it's in a much bigger location; and that was just phenomenal."
He even drove to Washington, D.C. (a four, five hour drive) to see The Church touring on the back of their 1984 compilation 'Remote Luxury', the first of many times catching the band live.
"We also got a Go-Betweens compilation at the college radio station, where I had a shift over the summer in high school, and I heard the 'Metal And Shells' compilation. So I loved The Go-Betweens from then on – and eventually, when they got back together, I actually got to play with them a couple times, which was really cool."
Another artist he's been a longtime fan of is Nick Cave, who he's followed since pre-Bad Seeds days in The Birthday Party. "I got to see him on 'The Firstborn Is Dead' tour with the Bad Seeds," he remembers. "I've probably seen him in every decade since the '80s, and he's always incredible. He's consistently one of my favourite artists.
"So, yes, I don't know how you do it, but Australia really has produced some amazing bands," he adds.
From those early college days of crate-digging in New York to the present day of scouring Bandcamp for new acts, McCaughan has an enduring love of music coming out of these shores – so much so that a couple of the country's best right now, Melbourne's Quivers and Cable Ties, have signed to Merge Records in recent times.
"When I first heard Quivers, I just thought, 'Oh, this is kind of the perfect music for me'," he says. "Then, when I saw them live, they blew me away, and then we started working with them, and we put out 'Oyster Cuts', the new record. They came over [to the US], and we did a tour with them in October. So, getting to see them every night, hear their songs, that was great."
Much like triple j and local community radio has been a critical pathway to discovering new music here, US college radio has played a similar formative role in getting indie artists airtime and kickstarting countless careers. In fact, through college radio was how many of the fantastic acts on the iconic indie label Merge got their start.
In 2024, McCaughan celebrated 35 years of Merge Records with a 4-day festival in North Carolina, which included the likes of the New Pornographers, Redd Kross, Destroyer and, of course, Superchunk.
"Quivers, in fact, got to play twice at that festival, so a lot of people got to see them for the first time," he says, "and everyone was amazing. It's always fun to get all those artists in one place and everyone hanging out with each other and playing songs with each other. It's a lot of work, a lot of logistics, so we only do it every five years."
Another icon of the music scene who Superchunk have had a long history with is Steve Albini, whose shock passing earlier this year, tragically right before his band Shellac's new album and tour, rocked the music world.
"That was a huge loss," McCaughan says. "We made 'No Pocky For Kitty' with him, and then we mixed 'Foolish' at his place, and we recorded [seventh album] 'Come Pick Me Up', not with Steve, but at his studio again.
"So we had a lot of contact with Steve over the years, and he was always someone that we enjoyed seeing and talking to about anything really, when we were in Chicago, or when Shellac would come through North Carolina. It's a terrible loss, and just so shocking for everyone."
When news broke of Steve's death, social media was flooded with tributes and anecdotes of the many records he had a hand in making, showing just how vast and influential his career was.
I mention the last time I was in the same room as Albini, it was about 3am in a hotel suite in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he was indulging in one of his favourite afterparty activities – playing serious poker until sunrise with other artists and festival goers in town for All Tomorrow Parties' I'll Be Your Mirror in 2011.
"He had such a presence and all these other weird things – like he loved food, he loved cooking. Obviously, he loved and was great at playing poker, which isn't something that I really know anything about!"
So, while there won't be any such post-show card games on the table for Superchunk's Australian fans, punters can certainly expect a few surprises in the sets to please their long-time listeners.
"We got to play some big places [last time], so that was awesome to get to come down and do that kind of tour, but I'm really looking forward to doing our own club shows – it's just a bit more intimate."
Superchunk 2024 Tour Dates
Fri 13 Dec - Crowbar (Sydney)Sat 14 Dec - The Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
