Undertaking a book documenting the history of Merge Records is not small feat, but author John Cook with the help of Merge co-founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance managed to do just that, and remarkably so.Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records breaks Merge's 20-year history into easily digestible pieces, documenting the label through the eyes of the bands whose releases bears Merge's trademark "potato stamp" (with the exception The Magnetic Fields' album The Charm of the Highway Strip—and yes, there's a story there). There are many chapters dedicated to the bands who serve as the original backbone of the label; Superchunk, Matt Suggs (of Butterglory and White Whale), Neutral Milk Hotel, The Magnetic Fields, Spoon, Lambchop and Arcade Fire each tell their own stories. Jeff Magnum of Neutral Milk Hotel did not participate in the making of the book, but his intriguing rise to stardom is told through those close to him during his active years.
