Superchunk release acoustic version of 'Foolish' w/ Allison Crutchfield, Owen Pallett, more

“Our original idea for an all-acoustic album was for it to be a selection of songs from all our albums, played in the style of an acoustic performance in a record store or a radio station, which we have done quite a bit of over the years,” says Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan of the just-released acoustic rework of their 1994 album Foolish. “But with 2019 being the 25th anniversary of the Foolish album, it seemed weirder and more interesting to record an acoustic version of one whole album. I didn’t want this to sound like ‘acoustic demos recorded 25 years after the fact’ or a band trying to ‘rock out’ except on acoustic guitars, though to be fair we do some rocking out. Once we got into the process of learning how to play the songs on acoustic guitars—some of which we had never performed at all—it made sense to make this record its own thing altogether.”

To make this new version of Foolish, they brought in some guests: Allison Crutchfield (Swearin’), Matt Douglas (The Mountain Goats), Peter Holsapple (The dB’s), Owen Pallett, and Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak). The album was mainly recorded live in the studio; studio versions of songs like “The First Part” and “Driveway to Driveway” are decidedly different…but still familiar. “The songs themselves, extracted from the drama of the moment and what people wanted to write about then, are more applicable to Real Life than I thought they would be,” says Mac. “Without the embarrassing angst of the 25-year-old, they are just songs about transitions, holding grudges or trying not to, letting go of things that aren’t healthy, moving through difficult situations and relationships and trying to be ‘normal’ in the course of all that, even though there’s no such thing.” You can stream Acoustic Foolish in full, along with the original album, below.

Superchunk have live dates in June and July, including St. Louis, Chicago and two shows at SPACE in Evanston, IL on 6/10 where they’ll play Foolish acoustically. Following a short tour of Spain, the band wrap things up at the Merge 30th anniversary festival in Carrboro, NC. All dates are listed below.

SUPERCHUNK – 2019 TOUR DATES
06/08/19 – St. Louis, MO – Twangfest
06/09/19 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall
06/10/19 – Evanston, IL – SPACE – Superchunk Plays “Foolish”: A Special 25th Anniversary Acoustic Performance
06/10/19 – Evanston, IL – SPACE – Superchunk Plays “Foolish”: A Special 25th Anniversary Acoustic Performance (Late Show)
07/03/19 – Valencia – Spain – La Rambleta
07/04/19 – Madrid – Spain – Sala But
07/05/19 – Vilanova i la Geltru – Spain – Vida Festival
07/25/19 – Carrboro, NC – MRG30 Festival