“Non‐Believers”
Mac McCaughan
Merge Records
By Johnny Spice
9.5 put of 10
When an artist such as Mac McCaughan decides to put out his first solo LP, people take notice. After 25+
years in the music business, leader of multiple bands (including the Iconic Superchunk) and founding
one of the top indie labels in the world, Merge Records, what would make him decide now to put his
name on the side of the record instead one of the bands he is involved with, or coming up with a new
band to perform these songs? I’m sure many people who heard the news of this records impending
release (myself included) felt a little trepidation, but to quote the man himself from the leadoff track
“Your Hologram” he definitely goes about giving the “non‐believers find something to see.” Boy, do they
ever.
A loosely constructed narrative cycle that tells a story of growing up, the record itself can be appreciated
just as the collection of great songs if you don’t want to dig for a deeper meaning.
Some of the tracks that grab your attention right away include “Only Do,” “Our Way Free,” “Box
Batteries (of which there is an amazing alternate version on the single, you should pick it up from here :
http://www.mergerecords.com/box‐batteries‐bw‐whatever‐light or check it out here if you need to hear
it before you buy it: https://youtu.be/x1CHt0tQjjk )
Another track that needs to be mentioned is “Wet Leaves,” a good song that shows has a very artistic
video that accompanies is you can see here: https://youtu.be/SuYXodsEwpc
In a perfect world, “Barely There” would have an awesome video by some big name director that gets
play a ton and people would walk around singing that chorus. I find it impossible to play this album
without playing this song twice in a row.
As someone who has been listening to the various musical endeavors of Mr. McCaughan for more than
half of my life I can honestly say this album far exceeded my lofty expectations and one can only hope
two things:
1 – that it won’t be another 25 years before we see the second Mac McCaughan solo record
And
2 – “Barely There” continues to be included in any future live performance by any project Mac plays
with.