Ten years ago Seattle’s Super Deluxe took off on the college radio waves, spurring their reputation as the darlings of pop guitar rock while marking their ground in the midst of other “super” groups (Superdrag, Super Suckers, Supergrass, Superchunk…you get the idea). Much like their Posies counterparts at that time and place, the band rallied music fans to dance and smile instead of screaming about how bad life was.
Famous really catapulted the band’s career, resulting in what we can only hope were lucrative licensing deals for songs such as “She Came On” and others. Aside from their sophomore release Via Satellite in 1997, the band has been AWOL until now.
As if they’d never left, Surrender! is comprised of all the sparkling melodies that sparked Super Deluxe’s initial rise, taking me back to the days when talent overshadowed marketing glitz. The album clicks with a ying and yang energy, going from the running-through-the-daisy freshness of the opening track “Come Down” to the jangly, shake ‘n stirs of “Know Your Enemy” and “Safe and Sorry.”
Although 107.7 The End, the alternative radio station in Seattle, picked “Knockout” as the hit single from Surrender!, I would beg to differ because of the trite and juvenile lyrics about, yes, a girl and pining for her even though she’s with another guy. That said, Surrender! is great comeback for Super Deluxe and I hope they plan to keep the train running for a while longer.
