reviews:        page 1   |   page 2

 

City Pages here and Album of the Week here. (scroll down)

Live review from HowWastheShow.com.

A "More melodic Hold Steady," according to the Star Tribune.

A Pioneer Press junket.

Splendid review from Splendid Magazine

Review at Mundane Sounds

Indie Shout parties hard.

New summary in The Onion A.V. Club

Babysue gives Superhopper 5 stars.

"Too good to be true" at Left Off the Dial ezine.

All Music Guide gave Superhopper 4 stars.

review from The Day in New London, CT

Peter S. Scholtes at City Pages theorized about Superhopper.

Local music critics vote Superhopper's "New Fresh Midwest" as #5 song of the year. Read about it here or view it here if you don't have a Star Tribune online account.

Howwastheshow.com unwound at Superhopper's CD release show.

The Minnesota Daily parties with Superhopper.

Matt at 30music.com proves that he likes to party with Superhopper.

Indieworkshop.com answers the question.

Does this make any sense, yet?

British and punk, according to a brief review by Impact Press.

Local music critic Chris Riemenschneider of the Minneapolis Star Tribune is excited: "Superhopper's new CD, "Does This Sound Exciting Yet?" has generated quite a lot of excitement, and for good reason. With echoes of Lifter Puller, the Minutemen and the Buzzcocks, the 28-minute disc hustles at breathtaking pace through 12 smarmy, snide, playful songs, including the highlights "New Fresh Midwest" and "Twenty Seven." Hear them live tonight at 7th Street Entry with Sweet J.A.P. and the Midnight Evils."

Superhopper, "The Days of Wine and Whiskey" (Moniker? No!): "I wanna be a big hit in Mid-America," yowls Superhopper singer/guitarist Kermit Carter on the St. Paul foursome's sophomore album, giving voice to all the local heroes who simultaneously embrace and eschew the legacy of the twin towns' beer- and flannel-soaked legacy. Superhopper does their part: Such well-oiled droners as the rock-star basher "Forgot Which One" and "Chatter, Chatter, Chatter Goes the Girl" ("I'm not your friend/I just work here/I listen to you because I am getting paid") exhibit a healthy distrust of the "scene" and anything that smacks of back-stabbing or pretension.

It all ends up playing less like a statement and more like a party that celebrates timeless punk rock ("This Song" could be a lost L.A.M.F. gem, and "Big Hit in Mid-America" cleverly references television's "See No Evil"). Stealthily recorded by Mike Wisti, the best of the bunch is "Watch Out, I'm Retreating," a burst of barely channeled energy that would have cut through the muck of 1977, as much as it should 2002.
- Jim Walsh, Saint Paul Pioneer Press

It's normal for an indie rock band to be a little fun and crazy, but Superhopper really takes the cake. Sitting down at a benefit show they played last week at the Borealis in Dinkytown, I expected to watch the show from a distance. Once the music started, though, I quickly found this to be an impossible feat.
I had to shake my ass. So did most of the other people who came to see Superhopper. Nick Shuminsky's loud-as-hell drum set had so many drums on it that it took up most of the stage, forcing singer/guitarist Kermit Carter, bassist Bill Muller and keyboardist/trombonist/singer Mathew Piaselki to play on the dance floor, which rapidly filled with previously unenthused dance machines.

Superhopper's loud, fast rock was so anthemic that everyone started singing along. Piaselki's spastic form of dancing is so awe-inspiring that I can't help but dance along with him. They played several songs from their latest CD, The Days of Wine and Whiskey, about work, annoying customers, and drinking. They sang about the kind of stuff that most any twenty-something (and even Bill, their 30-year-old bassist) can relate to.

In the show's afterglow, I met the band in the VIP lounge. I attempted to do an interview, but due to exhaustion from dancing I was more than a little stumped for original questions. Before I knew it the band was passing my notebook around, writing things in it like "It might be 3 inches, but the damned thing spins," and "Other than Bill, Superhopper prefers making love to quickies." And I can't possibly neglect to mention their list of turn-ons (including things like "St. Paul," the "Malachi Constant," and "being inside") and turn-offs (things like "super-groups without enough super" and "every Styx album after the one with Mr. Roboto"). Bill added his turn-ons separately: "silk sheets and fireplaces." He then explained that he has no turn-offs. "Beggars can't be choosers," he said.

Interesting shows? They've played a few. In Pennsylvania they once played a firehouse. They've played backyards, patios, even a Rio Bravo restaurant. The energy level never seems to die down with these St. Paul rockers. One time, Kermit tells me, they played a show behind some record store on a grassy field in Ypsilanti, Mich. to a crowd of "smelly dogs and hippies that hated us. It was real weird. But we play weird shows at weird places, because it's all about the music, really. I mean, if there's one guy in the back of some field in Ypsilanti that gets us, that's all we care about. We just like to play music and have a good time."
-Oren Goldberg, The Minnesota Daily

What does it tell you when a band sends a magazine a picture of Don Mattingly's Monument Park plaque, a dollar bill, and a handwritten note saying "We love the Twins + Tom Brunansky. But will always love 'Donnie Baseball.' Here's a buck, be nice." Kinda sounds like they're trying to curry favor, don't it?

Well, here at ChinMusic!, we accept it wholeheartedly, especially when the above is included with a cd matching the pop hooks of the Smoking Popes or Blondie with the grinding low-fidelity organ sound that made the Screamers demo cassette a must-have for music snobs everywhere.

With a completely supercrappy name like Superhopper, you can bet the music inside had better be ten notches above average. These guys deliver, without question, some of the most engaging and non-entirely-categorizable music in a decade or so. Punchy and melodic in all the right places, with a tastefulness that avoids wearing their influences on their sleeves or driving a good thing into the ground. Gotta say, this is some really impressive shit.
-ChinMusic