Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus

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Free Music Notes for Stephen Malkmus

Free Music Review: Greek Gods, Departed Friends, And Pirate Kidnappings....
Hit: 5 Stars

The proceedings will be eerily familiar to Pavement fans. Tracks like "Black Book" and "Church On White" brim with the sloppy, ebullient guitar jams all Pave fans know and love, and Malkmus's literary, deadpan vocals are as ironical and cryptic as ever. And the album certainly cements the long-held suspicion that Malkmus carried the band; those familiar with Pavement probably won't even miss his bandmates. If anything, the album is a return to the infectiously lighthearted tone of Pavement's early albums.

But Stephen Malkmus is accessible enough for the uninitiated to enjoy. The album is filled with catchy, infectious pop melodies and memorable lyrics. Particularly fun (and surprising) are Malkmus's forays into storytelling; his fractured tales of Greek gods, doomed romances and pirate kidnappings are uniformly sweet and funny. Furthermore, the songs complement each other well - all the songs have their own distinct sound and the album never really drags out. Standout tracks include "Church on White", a ballad somehow both casual and majestic, "Trojan Curfew", an epic southern-rock influenced ballad, and "Jennifer And The Ess Dog", an infectious meld of John Cougar Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane" and the Beatles' "OB-La-Di, OB-La-Da."

There aren't too many bad things to say about this record. Sure, there are some superfluous, weird sound effects at the beginning of some songs (weird samples include wild Tarzan screams and a truly arbitrary snippet of some guy talking about the shaving of his head), but nothing detracts from the album's earnest, quirky charm. The songs are fun but not shallow, eclectic but not overreaching, intelligent but not obscure. Great record.

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