Weekly Release Spotlight: Stephen Malkmus
Posted on 3/02/2008
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Real Emotional Trash
[Matador]
It may be impossible to ever read about a Malkmus album without also absorbing some kind of nostalgic reference to his days as the slacker singer/guitarist for Pavement. Mostly it has to do with that band's justly attained status as one of the greatest indie rock bands of all time, which is saying something, as they did not have the rebellious edge of Sonic Youth nor the intelligent sincerity of Yo La Tengo. No, they were simply a group of man-boys who had fun, sang about nonsense, and made silly noises with their instruments. This trademark nonchalant charisma continues still now on Malkmus's fourth full-length since Pavement's demise (second with backing band The Jicks) and although the man and his songs haven't necessarily grown up or matured, they surely have progressed and evolved.
His fans have been waiting a long time too for the culmination of this progression, as he's been toying with a new tone or style on every album he's helmed, whether it be the pop song perfecting on his self-titled debut, the dark jams of Pig Lib, or the folk freak-outs of Face the Truth. Everyone's been wondering "what does Stephen Malkmus sound like when he's not trying to do one thing in particular?" Now we have our answer with Real Emotional Trash. He feels at his most honest and natural - his voice still containing the aloofness we've grown to love, but we feel his presence in the moment more often than ever before. His guitar also meanders more so than ever before, but on every track, there's a solid conclusion that proves it's not all for naught. However, this all doesn't really feel like an intentional balance of the free form and the pop conduit. Here, Malkmus is simply being himself, and it just so happens this is the result.
"Gardenia" is as concise as the album gets both in length and melodically, and it's the first indicator of how important The Jicks are in aiding Malkmus in sculpting his first authentic rock sound he's offered to the public since Pavement. After a sludgy intro, Janet Weiss (formerly of Sleater-Kinney) pipes in with her perky percussion and back-up vocals and suddenly, Malkmus and crew sound like they're working together rather than simply following one man's lead. It really is simply representative of the album as a whole, from the ten-minute title track's ebbs and flows between Malkmus's spotlight and epic teamwork, or the mellow and even touching "Out of Reaches," which keeps from falling apart because of The Jicks pushing Malkmus through till the end. Hopefully Malkmus doesn't leave The Jicks behind again, because they almost surely are what help him shine the most on this, truly his first effort that is unquestionably his own.
Stream: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - Baltimore
Stephen Malkmus will be playing the First Avenue Mainroom on March 19.
Written by Chris Polley, Radio K volunteer and host of Now Like Photographs.