On this self titled debut album Superchunk are caught in their formative years. Slightly past the 'hey look we can play our own instrument's' phase but yet to truly find their own sound. The influences, all flashes from the last twenty years of punk and inde rock that proceeded it, the Stooges rawness, Black Flags noisy edge, Husker Du's pummeling assault and the Replacements sloppiness can all easily be heard. To the extent that its an album of its time and place, it could probably be used an example for anyone who wanted to know what a local inde band from anywhere in the USA in the late 80's to very early 90's sounded like.
Not that its a bad album for that, there are a few tracks that show that Superchunk had some major song writing talent, Slack M*ther**cker (a timeless anthem about working a dead end job for jerk) in particular reveals this, but the opener Sick To Move and Swinging also surpass the general inde noise sound. The rest isn't bad so much as it is generic inde riffling and lyrics and teenage angst and frustration. Its not an essential album unless you're a big fan of Superchunk but it was an important step that Superchunk had to take on their way to became more than just your average inde band.