Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Mirror Traffic
(Domino Records)
After the extended jams and psychedelic wig-outs of previous album Real Emotional Trash, former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus returns with a set of songs which are summery in their tunefulness and almost shocking in their brevity. For the first time in his decade or so with the Jicks, Malkmus has also relinquished control of production duties, handing them over to Beck Hansen. The pair are such a good fit it makes you wonder why it’s taken so long for these two lovable eccentrics of the US indie scene to work together. First track (and first single) Tigers opens with the line “I caught you streaking in your Birkenstocks” and that pretty much sums up the mood of the rest of the piece. Stand-out track is No One (Is As I Are Be), an acoustic ballad with a hazy 1960s feel and a mellow brass section. But it’s all good. After the rigours and pressures of last year’s Pavement reunion tour, Malkmus is clearly having fun again.
Barry Didcock
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