pig lib
‘Cut the second drummer. Strip the music of its quirky background vocals and odd filler sounds. Basically, No more monikers like ?Spiral Stairs.? Cut this all out and you?re left with one Stephen Malkmus, a living storehouse of border breaking, rock?, pop?, indie?, border-breaking, indefinable psychedelia.
Without the backing of Pavement, SM has released his second solo album with the help of the Jicks, his new band. According to Malkmus, who was under the misimpression that he created the word, a Jick is another word for a Jack of Hearts in a Sicilian card game. More appropriately, the Jicks are Malkmus? Ace, a card he has been patiently waiting to release from his hand at the best moment.
The man has trumped us all.
Although Pavement may be woefully dead, there sound lives on in Malkmus? present day efforts. The influence unconsciously and undeniably permeates each progression without choking the songs.
The Jicks are not Pavement. The Pavement influence will always be there, and will always be sought after by the band?s fans. The Jicks? songs maintain their own identity and are branching out to create new space for a new era of Stephen Malkmus? songwriting skills.
As always, Malkmus fuses everything from spacey psychedelic licks with prog rock progressions to pop sensibility with non-sequitur nonsensicalities. It is this punchy penchant for unpredictability that has kept his music fresh throughout the relatively long span of his career.
If ?Pig Lib? was to be compared to any Pavement album, though, it would be most reminiscent of ?Wowee Zowee.? The album is a process of musical maturity, showing Malkmus? guitar playing sophistication. Although experimental, there is a greater semblance of structure in the songs. The tunes are fleshed out, allowing the listener to appreciate them for what they are worth. It is off-the-wall, which is to be expected, but the ?Pig Lib? does not focus on these qualities. It shows its artistic side and demands appreciation. As Malkmus stated in a recent interview with Pitchfork Media, the songs on this album were made in the vein of bands such as Led Zeppelin which took the approach of ?Let?s get through the singing and get to the good part of the song.?
Whether instrumental or vocally charged, every part fits well with the next, in the context of an entire album and veritably says, ?This is a product of Stephen Malkmus.?
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