Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks - Sparkle Hard (Matador, 2018)

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks

Sparkle Hard

Matador

2018

Rating: 7 dried-out highlighters out of 10

It’s still completely lost on me what the difference is between Stephen Malkmus versus Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks, but this new record “Sparkle Hard” is the latter.  It’s very Jicky obviously!  Regardless of title, with Stephen’s voice and song-writing style it’s always going to sound like an extension of Pavement.  A pig is still just a bacon machine even if it wears a dress and dates a frog.  After a few years paying only middling attention, I really got into 2014’s “Wig Out At Jagbags,” and was subsequently quite looking forward to this one.  In three words: I’m digging it.  Does “I’m” count as only one word?  Anyways, while still operating in the well-established pocket he has created for himself these past few decades, “Sparkle Hard” feels…mellower, more mature even?  In this case ”mature” really just means there are some strings and not as many guitar solos and one song sounds a little country (that song is “Refute,” but it’s not as country as Pavement’s “Range Life”).  There are more keys/synths here than I remember him employing in the past, but that could be more my faulty memory than an actual stylistic change. 

I’m trying to imagine a Malkmus fan seeking out & reading this (or any) other review of “Sparkle Hard,” his eighth solo record after five Pavement releases, and trying to decide whether or not they might give this new release a chance…I can’t imagine this person exists.  These people already know how you feel about this man and his art.  If you’re not a fan, this ain’t changing your mind – he’s as Malkmus-y as ever.  And if you have no idea who he is, maybe you’re super young or you just woke from a nearly thirty year coma – just go buy “Slanted & Enchanted” and branch out from there.  

Stephen Malkmus - Jo Jo's Jacket 7'' (Domino, 2001)

Stephen Malkmus
Jo Jo's Jacket 7''
Domino
2001

Rating: 7 missing neon signs out of 10

I was bummed when Pavement broke up, as most of their fans were, but pretty quickly Stephen Malkmus put out a self-titled record that sounded just like the last couple of Pavement records...and we knew the world would be ok.  The title track here is off of that album, and it's a damn good song.  Malkmus was always clearly very involved in shaping Pavement's sound, but when you hear his solo work it's very clear just how much influence he held.  My feelings are not nearly as strong on the flip track as they are for the title track - "Open And Shut Cases" - the lyrics of which mostly are just those four words in the title repeated over and over.  It is the epitome of a seven inch b-side: there, but barely. 

Side note: the label on my b-side is all jacked up...not sure if this was normal for this release, or I'm just "special."

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Wig Out at Jagbags (Matador, 2014)

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Wig Out at Jagbags
Matador
2014

Rating: 7.5 rural postcards out of 10

As someone who has spent the better part of his life listening to Pavement for hours and hours and hours, frankly it's impossible not to hear a new Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks record and compare the two.  Is that fair?  Probably not, but when you formerly fronted one of the most important bands in my personal development, that's just the kinda shit that's gonna happen. 

Anyways, personal bias aside, this is pretty good record.  For whatever reason I've not been paying much attention to this Stephen Malkmus solo stuff outside of his first one "Pig Lib," and perhaps that was a mistake on my part.  And bias or no bias it still sounds pretty much like a Pavement record - how could it not with Malkmus writing and singing the songs?  "The Janitor Revealed" and "Houston Hades" especially sound like outtakes from the Pavement record "Terror Twilight" or maybe "Brighten the Corners."  I'm not complaining, this shit makes me feel young again. 

As a side note, if the album title "Wig Out at Jagbags" isn't cribbed directly from something Robert Pollard said, you just know at a minimum it's a phrase he uttered at some point in his life.  It's just way too Pollard-y not to have come from his brain, if even telekinetically. 

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Mirror Traffic (Matador, 2011)

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks

Mirror Traffic

Matador

2011

Rating: 7 galloping stick figures out of 10

After five Pavement records and this the fifth solo record, I think the majority of folks are more than familiar with Stephen Malkmus and his detached cool indie pop songs.  Now, it's not about what the records sound like, cause they all sound kinda the same...no, now it's about how good and/or catchy is this particular chunk of songs.   And this is a quality collection of songs.  Malkmus seems to have stepped away from his Blue Oyster Cult-style fascination with seventies hard rock, and perhaps as a result of the Pavement tour he seems to be coming back to some mid-nineties catchy-as-hell indie pop.  Not as many guitar solos but a lot more hooks.  I've sorta wandered away from most of his solo records, but this one has reeled me back in.