AF (Acoustic Foolish)

The fourth album from Chapel Hills Superchunk was 1994s Foolish. By the standards set by the jumpy high-energy guitar pop that preceded it, the album veered between subdued and emotionally heavy. The move from fuzzy, playful songs about packages getting stolen off the porch and lazy coworkers to themes of exhaustion and bitterness may have come in part from the breakup of band co-founders Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. Instead of wallowing, the songs curiously explored the brooding sadness, relief and mundanity of love ending, as well as how life goes on. Heartbroken, heartbreaking, and outside of anything resembling a personal or musical comfort zone, Foolish pushed Superchunk beyond their depths and was one of their finest hours. In celebration of the albums 25th anniversary, AF (Acoustic Foolish) revisits all 12 of Foolishs tracks in a stripped-down acoustic style. String arrangements show up on several songs, Katie Crutchfield (Waxahatchee) and Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak) contribute guest vocals, and distorted guitar leads are transformed into jazzy horn lines on tracks like Saving My Ticket. The familiar strains of album-opener Like a Fool are well-suited for acoustic re-imagination, and here a pensive string arrangement fills in some of the tension that once came in the form of crackling electric guitars. ~ Fred Thomas