Name: The Sound of Yourself
Brand: Mac McCaughan

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

MRG783LPC2

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Colour

Blue

Colour details

Translucent Light Blue

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Discogs ID

[r20355649]

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Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: Yes

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: Yes

Extended format

Extended format: Yes

Format detail

Signed Sleeve.

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Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2021-09-24

Signed copies

Signed copies: Yes

Supplier GB

Rough Trade NYC

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

0673855078335

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: Yes / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: Yes / Signed copies: Yes / blue

MRG783LP

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Black

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format: No

Signed copies: No

Cargo

0673855078311

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1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

MRG783CD

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Download code: No

4 Panel Wallet with 8-Page Booklet

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0673855078328

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "0673855078328"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

1 / CD / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

MRG783LPC1

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "MRG783LPC1"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

Pink

Pink and Orange Swirl

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "Pink and Orange Swirl"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

[r20311552]

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0673855078304

{"blocks": [{"data": {"text": "0673855078304"}, "type": "paragraph"}]}

1 / Extended format: Yes / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / pink

Artist

Mac McCaughan

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

Merge Records

Mac McCaughan is a renowned musician and the co-founder of Merge Records, an influential independent record label. With his band Superchunk and as a solo artist under the name Portastatic, he has made significant contributions to the indie rock scene. Known for his distinct songwriting style and energetic performances, McCaughan has garnered a loyal fanbase over the years.

Throughout his career, Mac McCaughan has collaborated with various artists such as Robert Pollard, East River Pipe, Crooked Fingers, Archers Of Loaf, Tobin Sprout, Eric Bachmann, Bob Mould, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Lou Barlow, Unrest, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Quasi, Dean Wareham,and Seam among others. His music resonates with fans who appreciate raw emotion and catchy melodies.

With influences ranging from Guided By Voices to Silkworm to Sugar and beyond,
Mac McCaughan continues to create music that captivates listeners worldwide. Whether performing live or producing albums for other talented musicians through Merge Records,
his passion for music shines through in every endeavor.

Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. Founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan, it started as a platform to release music from their band Superchunk and their friends' creations. Over the years, Merge Records has grown to include talented artists from all over the world, with some of their records even reaching the top of the Billboard music charts.
With its headquarters nestled in Durham, North Carolina, Merge Records has become a renowned name in the music industry. The label was established by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan back in 1989 with a vision to share their own musical endeavors as well as support fellow musicians within their circle.
What began as a humble endeavor quickly flourished into something much greater. Today, Merge Records boasts an impressive roster of artists spanning various genres and backgrounds. From indie rock to experimental pop, *Superchunk* paved the way for other talented musicians to join forces under this esteemed label's umbrella.

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Throughout his career fronting Superchunk and Portastatic, Mac McCaughan has channeled more than his share of angst into a microphone, resulting in undeniable rock anthems. So how can a voice so familiar to others still seem foreign to its owner? On The Sound of Yourself, McCaughan’s second release under his own name, he explores that question fully, shooting his voice through a prism and refracting it across these songs in new and rewarding ways.

In January 2021, McCaughan found himself at his home studio in Chapel Hill North Carolina staring down a clean slate after wrapping a film score and several other music projects. His thought process was simple: “Each day is blurring into the next, so what are we doing today? How can I disrupt this? I think what resulted was a theme of subdued... ‘joy’ is the wrong word, but it’s at least comforting if not propulsive to have something open-ended to work on every day without any kind of structure or deadline or rules.”

McCaughan leaned into allowing randomness and accidents to catalyze his compositions. Where a guitar riff might typically start a Superchunk song, an indistinguishable loop found on an old sampler dictates the mood on “Found Cricket,” and simply opening up his studio to the woods outside channels Another Green World on “36 and Rain.” Instrumentals make up nearly half of The Sound of Yourself, and are integral to the album’s atmosphere.

While the pop-oriented tracks hint at sounds explored on Non-Believers, McCaughan’s recent scoring work and frequent excursions with synthesizers and sequencers (see: the Moogfest- commissioned POMS and his ambient project with Mary Lattimore) add a particularly crystalline spaciness akin to The Durutti Column and Bowie’s Berlin trilogy. A sloping new wave bassline grounds the catchy “Circling Around” as McCaughan rejects rumination with cleverly cyclical lyrics and a few strategically placed “whoa”s. The warbled synthetic voices emanating from the Mellotron on “Sleep Donor” are already singing isolation blues well before McCaughan frets, “I hear a footstep in the hall when there should be no one there at all...” These could be the same ghostly sounds “softer than the light, under the door” he describes in “I Hear a Radio,” a track on which Michael Benjamin Lerner (Telekinesis) and Annie Hayden (Spent) provide shimmering vocal harmonies.

For a record titled The Sound of Yourself, the irony in having many contributions from friends is not lost on McCaughan: “I’m constantly inspired by the work of my peers. I feel lucky to be able to collaborate with them despite the distances between us. Sending off a song into the ether and having it returned greatly improved and in often surprising and moving ways was one of the most satisfying aspects of making this record.” Additional guest appearances include Sabrina Ellis (A Giant Dog, Sweet Spirit), Mackenzie Scott of Torres, plus three moody saxophone tracks that Matt Douglas of the Mountain Goats offered McCaughan, layered on top of one another. Mary Lattimore introduces and concludes The Sound of Yourself with her singular harp playing. The bittersweet single “Dawn Bends” is bolstered not only by Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster but the esteemed trio of Yo La Tengo on bass, organ, guitar, and vocals.

The album’s title track asks, “Do you ever get used to the sound of yourself?” For an artist like Mac McCaughan, the answer lies in experimentation—testing his voice in a different light, deconstructing it, sometimes relegating it elsewhere or removing it altogether as the piece dictates. He knows that within the creative pursuit of an album as illuminating as The Sound of Yourself, familiarity reveals itself in the unknown.

The Sound of Yourself

Music GB

Discover The Sound of Yourself by Mac McCaughan. Limited Edition LP, CD and signed copies available. Released by Merge Records.