Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records is a book that chronicles the history of one of the most successful independent record labels who have been releasing excellent music on their own terms for the past 20 years. John Cook wrote the book with help from Mac McCaughan and Laura Balance and offers an inside look at not only the success of Merge Records, but the hugely influential band Superchunk. Aside from chronicling the story of Superchunk and the early days of Merge Records, the book looks at how Merge was able to become successful and offers profiles on some of Merge’s notable releases including Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs, Arcade Fire’s Funeral, and Spoon’s Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
The great thing about this book is that it also focuses on important bands to the label’s early history, which is great for people who are new fans of the label that may want to check into earlier releases. The book is filled with excellent interviews with Mac, Laura, members of the Merge Roster, and other people who were around to watch the label grow. One thing that really stood out was the excellent pictures. The book is filled with excellent photos from throughout the label’s history, and really brings the reader inside the world of Merge.
I am a huge fan of many of Merge’s bands and have always been fascinated with the background stories behind my favorite labels and bands and how they were formed. I found myself having a hard time putting the book down and I enjoyed reading more details about some of the bands I was less familiar with.
This book is an essential read not only for rabid fans of Superchunk and Merge artists, but for anyone with an interest in independent record labels in general and possibly for those looking to start a label. Even with the music industry struggling to survive, Merge Records is still going strong and releasing excellent records.
