Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks: Real Emotional Trash

Label: Matador

Do you like your riffs searing, your guitar solos chunky, your lyrics abstruse but perfectly rhymed and your vocals dotted with reaching falsetto? If so, you’re probably already a fan of Pavement and its erstwhile frontman Stephen Malkmus’s work with the Jicks – and you are in for quite a treat with the latter collective’s latest and weirdest effort, their first featuring terrific new drummer Janet Weiss (of Sleater-Kinney). Though his songs are longer and the production a little slicker, Real Emotional Trash nevertheless deals in classic Malkmisms: killer solos (say what you will, the man can shred), meandering song structures replete with breakdowns and impossible last-minute reprises and infectious passages you’ll find yourself humming at awkward times. Malky’s tongue is still often in cheek, but here you know he’s having a good time – unlike with 2006’s more-straightforward Face the Truth – and he and his Jicks invite you along for the fun. Don’t hesitate – join in! (Anna)