Superchunk got it right on their last album, Here's Where the Strings Come In. The over-caffeinated quaking of Mr. Mac ploughed headlong into the waters of pop perfection, dropped many hooks into the water, and caught trophy-ready fish with most of them. Indoor Living is a worthy follow-up, not quite up to Strings, but miles ahead of On the Mouth; that's for shit sure.

Everybody knows that every Superchunk song sounds the same. Hell, the BMI rights are held under "All the Songs Sound the Same Music." Not quite. The opening cut, "Unbelievable Things," coasts on a more relaxed vibe, and the hook is very precious. "Watery Hands" (the single) goes one better and hits true pop perfection; listen once, whistle forever, and eventually be driven insane by the whiny keyboard tag at the end of the chorus. Other than that, well, yeah, they kinda do sound the same, but less so than Superchunk's imitators.

Once again, the band triumphs over the great Goliath of pop music. (And yes, Laura Ballance is still the cutest indie rock bass player on feet.)

-Jason Josephes