Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
Wig Out at
Jagbags
Matador
This is a
perfect album. Great guitar. If
Malkmus ever puts out an all-instrumental album, I’d have it on repeat, just to
hear his guitar over and over. He’s pretty much patented his lyrics: clever, sly,
and somewhat cryptic.
“Independence Day” is a nice song about good self-esteem and “Cinnamon
and Lesbians,” which seems to be about neither, is why I say somewhat cryptic
lyrics. Both songs are the
standout tracks, and the rest have a good groove, and cool pop/rock
sensibilities. Absolutely nothing wrong with them.
So it
pains me to say that this is almost a duplicate of his last album, Mirror
Traffic, in the sense that these songs are as good, and almost as
interchangeable. I loved Mirror Traffic, said it was his best album, and the
judgment still stands. If you
liked Mirror Traffic, you'll love this album. I’m not slamming Wig Out at
Jagbags. I love this album to
pieces, but I wish Malkmus and company would shake things up a bit, just the
way he used to with Pavement.
Those days
are long gone, but not forgotten.
And since Mirror Traffic was something of a hit, it’s totally
understandable that he’d want to continue in this vein. But I wish he’d taken that album and
just used it as a starting point for branching out, and progressing beyond
that. The upshot is that we may have to learn to love him with this sound,
which isn’t a bad thing here, but it also leaves a nagging sense that he could,
and should, do better. If he ever
makes another album as good as this or Mirror Traffic, I won’t be nagged by
anything with it.
Andrea Weiss
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