“Everybody Dies”, the new punk track from Superchunk

This new single from Superchunk is released just before a short tour in the United States.

Superchunk won’t let things like the fragile and cruel nature of human mortality get in the way of a good punk song. On their latest single, “ Everybody Dies “, frontman Mac McCaughan pays tribute to the many musicians who have died over the past decade and how heartbreaking their loss has been.

A single, which includes a cover of “ As in a Blender » by Alastair Galbraith, will be released on January 26. The cover features a painting of McCaughan, who recorded the songs with his bandmates, bassist Laura Ballance and guitarist Jim Wilbur, as well as their new drummer, Laura King.

“ The past few years have often felt like an avalanche of loss – starting with Bowie and Prince, then amplified by the pandemic and social mediaMr. McCaughan said in a statement. What seems different these days is that we’re not just losing legends from older generations, Pharoah Sanders, Toots Hibbert, Kidd Jordan or Tina Turner, but musicians we consider peers and friends; people we’ve toured, recorded and shared beers with all over the world. This of course means we’re getting older, and even though we’ve known from a young age that yes, everyone dies, these departures are no less shocking. »

McCaughan went on to say that he started “ Everybody Dies ” playing over a drum beat that reminded him of Drive Like Jehu, a band whose leader, Rick Froberg, died last year. “ Luckily for everyone, I didn’t try to sing like him on this trackMcCaughan said. When we were thinking about what covers to record for the B side – dedicated to Hamish Kilgour (from the band Clean), I came in one day and said: “How about an Alastair Galbraith song?” “. Galbraith’s meditation on mortality and the passage of time is a bit more optimistic than ours and is exactly what I was listening to. »

Superchunk will celebrate the dead, as well as the living, on a short US West Coast tour next month with Fucked Up. They also announced a four-day festival to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their label, Merge Records (which McCaughan and Ballance co-founded) which will take place July 24-27. More details are coming, but they plan to start selling passes on February 9th.