After 24 years of making music (albeit off and on), it wouldn’t be a stretch to take the title of Superchunk’s tenth full-length, I Hate Music, at face value. After all, they wouldn’t be the first band to succumb to middle-age grumpiness. Instead, on the second song on the album and first single, “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo,” they spell out what they mean. “I hate music, what is it worth? Can’t bring anyone back to this earth.” It’s not the idea that they’re losing step, but instead acknowledging the limitation of something that seemed all powerful when they were younger. Superchuck does have weightier things on their collective mind these days.

The specter of maturity is shot through the overall arch of I Hate Music. There’s a sense of introspection as the band looks at not getting older, but being older and all the various things that means: the changes in how you love, deal with loss, and simply live. Dissecting it in black and white makes it sound like a very heavy, very serious, chin-stroking record—and it might have been in the hands of a band that wasn’t Superchunk. Instead, it’s  a high-energy romp through 11 songs in 37 minutes. It’s as hook-filled and propulsive as anything in their catalog and shows that their last record, the hiatus-breaking Majestic Shredding, wasn’t a fluke. The band knows how to make Superchunk records. I Hate Music has the vitality and energy of their early days with the focus all the years have brought them.

Respect should also be paid to the fact that the band isn’t afraid to drop the tempo and stretch out. The album closer “What Can We Do” clocks in at a hearty six minutes, which in the context of this record is dang near “Stairway To Heaven.” Also, I Hate Music just sounds great. It’s huge without being a punch in the face and every snare crack, bass riff and guitar line sounds delightfully live and raw. The perfect mix and balance of the instruments is similar to the balance of the album’s subjects and approach. This album shows that Superchunk knows how to go forward and stay the same. It’s a tricky thing to do, so bless them for nailing it.