This week, Durham’s Merge Records is celebrating its 35th anniversary with four nights of shows at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro.
The label was founded in 1989 by Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance of the band Superchunk. They launched Merge as a do-it-yourself outlet for the band to release its own records, as well as records by other bands they had befriended at home and on tour. While they still release music from North Carolina bands, it has gone on to become one of the best-known indie labels in the world.
In the early days, Merge strictly released music on cassette tapes and 7-inch singles. Besides Superchunk, they put out records from other North Carolina bands like math-rock pioneers Polvo, local punk legends Pipe, and the swing-reviving group Squirrel Nut Zippers. These early singles helped define the identity of the label. Merge embraced artistic freedom and was by artists for artists, in contrast to the major labels that were prevalent at the time.
The label has played a huge role in putting the North Carolina indie music scene on the map. During the 1990s, Chapel Hill was often eyed as “the next Seattle” because of how many successful bands were emerging from the area. Merge was at the heart of this scene, collaborating in one way or another with the majority of bands that were gaining national attention at the time. The Triangle was, and remains, a desirable place for musicians to live. This is due in large part to the thriving and supportive community that Merge helped foster.
“We are very lucky to live in a time when Merge Records is our neighbor," says local musician Laura King, who now plays in Superchunk. "The amount of local and worldly talent being released into the masses is immeasurable and will have a long lasting effect in our already gem of a community. It’s proof that anything is possible with passion and spunk."
“Laura [Ballance] and Mac [McCaughan] have run a successful business on their own terms for 35 years. They have not only created and managed a scene for N.C. music — they have also served as role models for small businesses and bands across the country and around the world” says Tricia Mesigian, owner of Orange County Social Club, a Carrboro institution and hot spot amongst those in the Chapel Hill and Carrboro music scene.
Later this year, Merge Records will also be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame alongside the likes of rapper Petey Pablo and the late music executive Clarence Avant.
Today, the label continues its mission with an even more global reach. In the last few years alone, it has released music from London-based Ibibio Sound Machine, Australia’s Quivers, and Sweden’s Shout Out Louds. The label also is home to some of the biggest indie acts going today, including The Mountain Goats, Caribou, Teenage Fanclub, Hiss Golden Messenger, and Camera Obscura.
Merge has released hundreds of records over the years. If you’re new to the label, here are five you should know.
Superchunk - Foolish
Foolish is Superchunk’s fourth record and contains several of the band’s most beloved songs. It was recorded late into 1993 and released the following year. The cover art features a painting by Merge co-founder and Superchunk bassist Laura Balance.
- Key Track: "Driveway To Driveway"
Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea is the second and final album by Neutral Milk Hotel, one of the key bands in the Elephant 6 collective out of Athens, Georgia. It’s a psychedelic folk record that has gained a cult following since its release in 1998. Since then, lead singer and songwriter Jeff Mangum has become a bit of a recluse but has occasionally toured. The band performed a rare show at Merge’s 25th anniversary in the parking lot of Cat’s Cradle.
- Key Track: "Two-Headed Boy"
The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
69 Love Songs is one of the most ambitious projects Merge has released. It’s probably also one of the most beloved. It’s a three-volume concept album/box set that, as the title implies, features 69 love songs written by frontman Stephin Merritt. Merritt is one of the most playful and clever songwriters of his generation, with a real knack for writing earworms and lyrics that make you both laugh and cry, sometimes in the same song.
- Key Track: "The Book Of Love"
Wye Oak – Civilian
Civilian is Wye Oak’s third album and was a breakthrough for the duo when it was released in 2011. The music is dreamy and experimental, showcasing the amazing talents of both musicians in the band. Wye Oak consists of Jenn Wasner, whose distinctive guitar playing really shines on this record, and Andy Stack, a multi-instrumentalist whose drums and keyboards bring layers upon layers of emotion to the music they make.
- Key Track: "Civilian"
Dawn Richard – Second Line
Dawn Richard is the type of artist who is constantly evolving and making art that is always unpredictable and always great. She signed with Merge in 2021 to release Second Line, an electronic dance record that pays homage to her hometown of New Orleans while also pushing the genre of R&B forward. It’s an exciting record that Richard describes as “a movement to bring pioneering Black women in electronic music to the forefront.”
- Key Track: Boomerang
