Superchunk have announced their 13th studio LP, the fantastically titled Songs in the Key of Yikes. Arriving August 22 via Merge, it features the previously released Rosali collab ‘Bruised Lung’, as well as the newly unveiled opening track, ‘Is It Making You Feel Something’, which is lively and anthemic. Check it out and find the album’s cover artwork and tracklist below.
Songs in the Key of Yikes, the follow-up to 2022’s Wild Loneliness, also marks the band’s first album since longtime drummer Jon Wurster left the band the following year. With Laura King now a permanent member after two years as their touring drummer, the album also includes contributions from Bella Quinlan and Holly Thomas of Quivers, as well as touring bassist Betsy Wright. It was engineered by Paul Voran (The Menzingers, Hurray for the Riff Raff) and Eli Webb, and mixed by Mike Montgomery (The Breeders, Protomartyr).
“It’s always been the case that everyone is going through something that you may not be aware of,” the band’s Mac McCaughan reflected in a press release. “This is currently more true than ever—but also the case that we are all going through some things together. In the face of that, what good is art and where is happiness found? (Spoiler alert: I don’t know.)”
About the new single, he added: “This song is about not second-guessing yourself in the very second-guessable process of writing words and music. It’s about the legitimate question of ‘who needs this and what is it good for?’ but also about not setting such a high bar for making art that you never get started. ‘Is it making you feel something?’ OK, that’s a place to start.”
Songs in the Key of Yikes Cover Artwork:
Songs in the Key of Yikes Tracklist:
1. Is It Making You Feel Something
2. Bruised Lung
3. No Hope
4. Care Less
5. Climb the Walls
6. Cue
7. Everybody Dies
8. Stuck in a Dream
9. Train on Fire
10. Some Green
