album of the week: 10.3

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

Mirror Traffic

(2011)

why you'll love it - Old-school Malkmus songwriting, relaxed but also wacky

why you'll hate it - Does not live up to the artists' reputation, or represent The Jicks all that well

If expectations are the bar, Mirror Traffic is tragically disappointing album. One of this generation's more irreverently brilliant songwriters (Stephen Malkmus) teaming up with pretty much the most eclectic and unpredictable musician ever (Beck) on production. Smells like a landmark indie release is cooking. Instead we're left with just a good album. Thanks a lot, jerks!

The Malkmus we get for this, the 5th Jicks album, is quite retro. It's the quirkiest he's been since his time with Pavement. There are a lot of good lines in this album that turn cliches up on their heads, hurl needless double-negatives, or give the most blunt anecdote possible. All in the name of good fun, of course. His delivery, along with this album's jovial tone, sounds more like They Might Be Giants than any pretentious stereotypes that tend to follow a band like this.

You never know what Beck is going to show up, even on his own albums. The last Jicks release, Real Emotional Trash (2008) had some very long songs, with epic guitar solos. Face The Truth (2005) had a fair amount of studio effects and synthesizers. The Jicks have done some things that are in Beck's wheelhouse of weirdness. Surprisingly, the songs in Mirror Traffic, are much simpler than what The Jicks have been known for, so there isn't a whole lot for Beck to work with. Moments of very bold acoustics are when I tend to feel his presence the most. The acoustics in "Stick Figures in Love" really pop like some songs in his breakthrough album, Odelay (1996). "No One is" feels like a cut from Sea Change (2002).

Once I got past the annoyance that this album wasn't the odd-splosion that I hoped it would be, I enjoyed what it does have to offer. Just some fun little songs. The single "Senator" isn't the best example of the album overall. Most of the songs are a bit slower than that one, but still just as lyrically silly. I was reminded more of Pavement's Wowee-Zowee (1995) than any previous Jicks album. Some filler, only a couple cult hit songs, but mostly normal mid-tempo indie pop songs with a subversive twist in the lyrics and melodies.