Merge Records
2006
Be Still Please
About This Album
Consistency is a troublesome thing, especially in the pop music game. You could deliver nothing but solidly great albums filled with bracing emotion, sparkling melodies, imaginative arrangements, and heartfelt performances and yet be written off as the same old thing while other bands with one-tenth of the imagination and power gain the accolades and sales you deserve. Consider Mac McCaughan's case. His bands Superchunk and now Portastatic have been shining beacons of consistent greatness, and apart from the beginning of Superchunk's career, his work has been mostly overlooked and underrated. Sometimes in favor of flavor-of-the-month bands (see Arcade Fire) on his own label, Merge. For those who have stuck with Mac throughout the years, the last Portastatic album, Bright Ideas, was the big payoff, as it was an astoundingly powerful record that spoke the truth about love and life and did so beautifully, both musically and lyrically. Well, there's more where that came from, because Be Still Please is another brilliant album. It's packed again with Mac's thoughtful and evocative lyrics, his one-of-a-kind voice that seemingly grows stronger with each release, and nothing but memorable and moving songs.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,6,7 and 9)

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