Looking at Mac Mccaughan's Audio Journal —Portastatic

Side projects can be odd entities; you will never know where a band's career can go. Take a look at Portastatic - an excellent example of how underestimated greatness could surface from the periphery.

Mac McCaughan began his lo-fi project back in the 1990's to respond to his soaring indie rock act Superchunk. It has been a full time career for sometime now with nearly twelve full-length albums to brag. Researching about McCaughan will convince anyone of his great musical genius disguised in multiple personalities. Besides being the front man and writing songs for the two bands, he co-owns and co-manages the renowned Merge Records who turned the ears of the world to The Magnetic Fields, Arcade Fire, and Dinosaur Jr.

Portastatic is easy to like. A couple of their songs would make you feel like to get to know them better. A good place to begin would be the Be Still Please (2006, Merge Records), their ninth full-length album. Lively yet tender and engaging start to finish, McCaughan drags you with distinctive vocals that contradict his age. By the way, he is already above 40 - which most likely explicate why he easily intertwines mid-life crises and other cool themes into his tracks.

Anyone can favor ‘Sour Shores' so easily. This song will certainly make you recall old adventures once you play it in your stereo for a drive to the beach playlist. The phrase, "you feel young again at the offer of a ride," is appealing and memorable yet bittersweet. We get to a particular age where we smile and reminisce poetic on the past; however the pulse speeds up a little at memories. The confessional ‘Cheers and Applause' makes you play it one more time and the thoughtful ‘Song for A Clock' which is a sonnet on the fleeting of time and how letting go of bitterness.

‘Be Still Please' seems like listening to McCaughan's audio journal. You sympathize with the diarist as he pens on getting through life now at his age. There is also a feeling of wistfulness, being scared yet optimistic with the journey. Generally, ‘Be Still Please' is introspect that rings true. If you are going 30 or 40, you can give Portastatic a try. Surely, you will know what I am telling you is all about.