Mac McCaughan | Photo by Eric Schuman for XPN
Indie Rock Hit Parade Live Session: Mac McCaughan
Joining us in the studio for this Indie Rock Hit Parade live session is… well, let me pause and ruminate for a moment on the fact that this is the first time I’ve been able to say those words in more than 18 months. Incidentally, there is a connection between Mac McCaughan and our last in-person guests from March 2020, Heart Bones. Mac is, of course, the lead singer of the beloved North Carolina group Superchunk; he’s also the head honcho at similarly beloved NC indie label Merge Records, home to Waxahatchee, Hiss Golden Messenger, Teenage Fanclub, and no fewer than two groups co-led by Heart Bones’ Sabrina Ellis. Sabrina also makes a guest appearance on The Sound of Yourself, Mac’s latest solo album.
Released earlier this year, The Sound of Yourself is a quintessential Mac record. No doubt drawing some sonic inspiration from Superchunk’s 2019 acoustic re-imagining of their 1994 album Foolish, the new collection offers rich musical textures. This session further showcases the gentler side of this indie rock lifer, as Mac performs acoustically alongside Superchunk bassist Jim Wilbur and Mountain Goats keyboardist/saxaphonist Matt Douglas. Listen to the performance below…
