***1/2 Superchunk

COME PICK ME UP

(Merge)

Born out of a desire to bridge the gap between American hardcore punk and the melancholy chime of New Zealand indie pop, Superchunk have always been about balancing poignant emotions and powerful noise. "It is my life, it is my voice/It is stupid, it is my noise," proclaimed singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan on the band's Superchunk debut, back in '89, with an immediacy that suggested he'd found his mission in life. Come Pick Me Up, the Chapel Hill foursome's seventh full-length, coincides with the 10th anniversary of Superchunk and the indie label he runs with the band's bassist, Laura Balance (Merge). And it finds Superchunk -- McCaughan, Balance, guitarist Jim Wilbur, and drummer Jon Wurster -- still building their version of punk pop on a foundation of bittersweet sentiments and well-crafted songwriting. The band have never worked with the same producer or engineer twice, and this time they've brought in Chicago avant-gardist Jim O'Rourke of Gastr del Soul. He encourages them to add strings and horns to tracks like "June Showers," "Pink Clouds," and "Hello Hawk," helping to frame Superchunk as the mature, subtle, occasionally elegant band they've become. Come Pick Me Up is also punctuated with sparkling, energetic, occasionally even optimistic gems like "Good Dreams," "June Showers," and "Pulled Muscle." And on "Tiny Bombs," a song that could easily be referring to "My Noise," McCaughan ponders, "What's it worth for a stupid song?/Well, this is what haunts me." Me too, in the best possible way.

-- Mark Woodlief

(Superchunk headline downstairs at the Middle East next Saturday and Sunday, August 21 and 22. Call 864-EAST.)