Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks: Wig Out at Jagbags


7.5

Well, it sounds like Pavement. Stephen Malkmus and his gang are back with zany lyrics and trippy guitar effects, but are the songs as good as those old Pavement records? This solo venture has taken a few different directions but still has all the Malkmus-isms of the 1990's. His solo work hasn't strayed far from what he's made a niche for himself as a songwriter. Still, I must say, there is something missing. Perhaps it's just the changing of the times and this style of indie rock isn't fresh anymore. It's not bad by any means but I don't see myself listening to this record on repeat with that excitement he once gave me. Albums like this make you wonder how much influence the other members of Pavement had on Malkmus' songwriting. This record has its moments, a bunch of cool guitar riffs, funny and clever lyrics that you'd expect from this group, but how effective it will be in the long run is anyone's guess. All I know is the audience's attention span keeps getting shorter and this genre or brand of indie rock may be on its way out. Might be time for Malkmus to reinvent himself musically, or stir up another Pavement reunion. We all loved that, didn't we?

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