Stephen Malkmus - Daytrotter Session

He recorded one of the albums of 2008, he plays a mean game of scrabble....and he is going to reform Pavement soon (I sincerely believe), yet Stephen Malkmus has still found time to record a Daytrotter session! Hurrah.

Awfully good it is too. You can listen to it right here:
http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/stephen-malkmus-and-the-jicks-captain-of-the-puzzle-gang-concert/20030557-6729.html

Track 1 doesn't count. Track 3 is 'Wicked Wanda' from 'Real Emotional Trash' which is a slight disappointment because he could've gone for the title track, 'Baltimore' or 'Gardenia' (my favourites basically), but still. Track 2 is a super version of 'Vanessa For Queens' from 'Pig Lib' and the last track 'Funk 49' is a brand NEW song, which is really groovy and loose and Malk sounds just great. As do The Jicks of course.

In nearly-related news, one of the vinyl only releases coming out on the fantastic RECORD STORE DAY (April 18th) is a Pavement live LP from Germany in 1997. Still awaiting news on whether this will be available in UK RSD-supporting record stores, but I hope so, since I will be spending the whole of that day in London looking for rare items and just spending as much time as possible in as many record shops as I can find!

Stephen Malkmus plays Pavement songs....

I know he does this every once in a while in the States (never in the UK though, to the best of my knowledge) but Stephen Malkmus played a solo show last week in which he played a number of Pavement songs including one of my all time favourites 'Harness Your Hopes'.

How I wish I had been at this show.

Short clips are available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-5766CZ_04

Thoughts on the 'Pavement reunion'

For those of us of a certain age (mid 30s) and a certain musical taste, hopes were raised yet again, earlier this week, when the NME announced that a Pavement reunion in the near future looked likely. The article even featured quotes from Scott ‘Spiral Stairs’ Kannberg.

Closer examination of the story and quotes, though, revealed nothing new. Malkmus and Kannberg have been saying for years that a reunion tour probably will happen, there is no animosity between the band members – they have all worked on the series of Pavement reissues. When it will happen is another matter. Despite what NME, The Guardian and many others who have reported this story say, Stephen Malkmus’ solo career is successful and in last year’s ‘Real Emotional Trash’ LP he produced probably his best record for ten years. What’s more, with The Jicks, he has a band structure that has sparked great creativity and he is already working on songs for a follow-up album.

It seems to me, as a fan of Stephen Malkmus, that he is more likely to make a great album with The Jicks than he is with Kannberg et al as part of a Pavement reunion. What I would love to see though is a reunion tour, a chance for everybody concerned to enjoy some of our favourite songs again. What makes this all the more desirable is that most of these songs haven’t been played live for a decade. Aside from one legendary show, Malkmus does not play Pavement songs live, I’m sure he would get a kick out of doing so again. The other factor, of course, is money. Pavement are likely to be offered quite serious money to do a tour plus festivals this year or next. Considering they were one of the finest bands of the 90s, hugely influential but never sold out and never achieved huge success, nobody should begrudge them taking this.

I think if you’re a Pavement fan, this is going to be a very exciting couple of years. If you listen to the live Shepherds Bush show recently released as part of the ‘Brighten The Corners’ reissue it is a reminder of what an amazingly innovative live band they were. It is too much to expect the reunion shows to be as exciting and loose as the old shows were, but they will be a lot of fun. I’m guessing we may have to wait til 2010 though…

Happy New Year

A Happy New Year to all TracksandGigs' readers, whether accidental or deliberate.

Here's hoping 2009 will be as good a year as 2008. Things T&G are looking forward to in the early months of the year:

- New M Ward LP (due Feb) and UK date.
- New Morrissey LP and UK tour
- New Bill Callahan LP (the wonderfully titled 'Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle')
- Fleet Foxes UK dates

..and of course all the great surprises we don't know about yet. Amazing to think that this time last year we knew nothing of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes!

A quick word for what I believe to be the most under-rated album of 2008, even by TracksandGigs...

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks' 'Real Emotional Trash' has rarely left the T&G stereo in recent weeks. It is a really superb album and a joy to listen to all the great guitar breaks and jams. I gave it an 8 in my review but it definitely deserves a 9. Which leads me to the T&G new year's resolution....which is to wait a little longer before reviewing albums...to live with them for a while more before jumping in with an opinion. Sometimes it is hard to wait when you think you have an album figured out, but T&G will try to this year!

Happy New Year everyone.

Top 10 Albums of the Year

here at last are the T&G top 10 records of the year....and after all the stuff written on here about American bands, the top 3 albums this year are from English, Scottish and Irish artists...

1- Tindersticks ‘The Hungry Saw’

What can I say about this album that I haven’t said already? A creative, vibrant record that is more than a match for any of their wonderful previous albums. In ‘Mother Dear’ it has the most atmospheric, tension filled ballad they have ever written and in ‘Boobar’, the most magical, Spector-ish pop song. Just fantastic. And album of the year.



2- The Twilight Sad ‘Here It Never Snowed, Afterwards It Did’

How do you top making one of the albums of 2007? If you’re the Twilight Sad, you make a mini-album featuring complete re-workings of several songs from that album. ‘Here It Never Snowed…’ took away much of the noise and the pace from the songs, stripping them down and highlighting James Graham’s amazing vocals. Both sounds work equally well and the band are now combining the two sounds at live shows. The album also featured a new song, plus a cover of Daniel Johnston’s ‘Some Things Last A Long Time’. The best new British band to emerge for a decade.

3- The Sleeping Years ‘We’re Becoming Islands, One By One’

Ex-Catchers singer/songwriter Dale Grundle returned in 2008 with this quietly triumphant set of songs about home, memories and heritage. It didn’t get a tenth of the attention it deserved but these are wonderful songs, held together by Grundle’s soothing voice. ‘Macosquin, Coleraine' is one of the songs of the year, a simple arrangement with acousic guitar and handclaps, I can’t stop playing it!


4- Fleet Foxes ‘Fleet Foxes’

A grower. Initially pleasant but unremarkable (the instantly catchy ‘White Winter Hymnal’ apart), the melodies creep up on you and you finding yourself singing them and then wondering what they are. Gorgeous harmonies mixed with old fashioned guitar sounds and of course Robin Pecknold is an amazing singer. How do they top this though?


5- Beck ‘Modern Guilt’

A 33 minute collection of short, sharp bursts of energy. This is a really exciting record that sounds great from start to finish. Highlight is ‘Chemtrails’ which is perhaps the single of the year and sounds amazing played loudly through headphones!


6- Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks ‘Real Emotional Trash’

Most pleasing post-Pavement album from Malkmus. Stunning guitar jams, especially on the title track, which is a complete tour-de-force.


7- The Mountain Goats ‘Heretic Pride’

Really consistent album from John Darnielle and more up-beat than previous offerings. ‘Lovecraft in Brooklyn’ and ‘Sax Rohmer’ are two of the best TMG rockers to date. As ever, lyrically supreme.


8- Jenny Lewis ‘Acid Tongue’

Beautifully produced with plenty of space for each instrument, this is a great old-fashioned sounding record with some gorgeous ballads. Highlight though is the thrilling duet with Elvis Costello.


9- The Dodos ‘Visitor’

Innovative sounds, great use of rhythm and simply some great sing-along songs.


10- American Music Club ‘The Golden Age’

New line-up, a lighter touch and a couple of bona-fide AMC classics (‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘The Dance). A couple of filler tracks too though but this is still more gold from Eitzel.

The T&G 11

TracksandGigs is preparing its 'Album of The Year' list. In advance of this, it has nominated eleven albums to form the 'album of the year' shortlist. Each of these records has given T&G an enormous amount of pleasure this year. The list, in alphabetical order, is...

American Music Club 'The Golden Age'

A few weak tracks here but many strong ones and it features one of Eitzel's most beautiful songs, the incredibly visual and moving 'Sleeping Beauty'

Beck 'Modern Guilt'

Short and sweet, his most cohesive record to date. An exciting, tremendously alive set of songs.

Fleet Foxes 'Fleet Foxes'

Deserving of all the hype. A delicious mix of country, soul, pop and folk. Gorgeous harmonies and a great Summer record.

Jenny Lewis 'Acid Tongue'

Unfairly slated by some, this is a luxurious, rewarding album to listen to. It is also a lovely recording with plenty of space allowed and each instrument given room to breathe.

Micah P Hinson 'Red Empire..'

A warm and inviting country-noir album that is all the better for Hinson finally sounding happy and content.

Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks 'Real Emotional Trash'

Just about his best since Pavement. A guitar masterclass and some great songs too.

The Dodos 'Visitor'

Sweet ballads, innovative percussion and great songs. This came from nowhere but will stand the test of time.

The Mountain Goats 'Heretic Pride'

An album of horror, monsters, death and fun from John Darnielle. Some of his best 'loud' songs for years. A really consistent album too.

The Sleeping Years 'We're Becoming Islands, One By One'

Quietly beautiful folk/pop songs from ex-Catchers frontman Dale Grundle.

The Twilight Sad 'Here It Never Snowed...'

Atmospheric mini-album with the band playing in a completely different style from their debut LP. Including  a stunning Daniel Johnston cover.

Tindersticks 'The Hungry Saw'

Unconcerned with the past, this is a fresh, vibrant piece of music that has formed the centre-piece of the band's shows this year. It has left the band rejuvinated and open to all possibilities for the future. A near-perfect 45 minutes.

Full list soon.

Pavement 'Brighten The Corners- The Nicene Creedence Edition'

When ATP asked for fans to vote for the bands they would most like to see play their festival a couple of years ago, Pavement, despite having split up almost a decade ago, were at the very top of the list.

Its easy to see why. Of all the successful alt.rock bands of the 90s, Pavement are pretty much the only ones not to do a reunion tour yet, they also boast the most consistent body of work of any of those bands AND they have kept themselves in the picture by undertaking just about the most comprehensive re-issue series I can remember. Every two years, a Pavement album is lovingly remastered and repackaged with a quite stunning amount of bonus tracks. It is a labour of love taken on by band members and Matador Records. So, 11 years since it was released, we now come to 'Brighten The Corners'.

It is still exciting to hear the opening bassline of 'Stereo' giving way to explosive guitar feedback, heralding one of the great rock songs of the 90s. 'Shady Lane', which follows, is a gorgeous woozy ballad with some left-field but touching lyrics. In fact, 'Brighten The Corners' is probably the high point of Malkmus' Pavement lyrics, there are so many clever/funny lines on this album that it would be wrong to pick a few or even list all of them, they just need to be heard and enjoyed. This is probably the most straight-forward Pavement album, full of anthems (even if they are anti-anthems) and slower songs, there is nothing difficult here.

Along with 'Crooked Rain...' it is also Pavement's most affecting album. Although Malkmus rarely seems to be singing about himself, songs like 'Type Slowly' tug the heartstrings while 'We Are Underused' is the classic Pavement slacker-anthem and simply demands that you sing along. Pavement fans could argue all day about which album is their best, but this is a strong contender. Great guitar riffs, supremely witty lyrics and Stephen Malkmus sounding better than he ever had...up to that point. One of the best alt.rock albums of the 90s.

As far as the extras go....there are 42 songs in total on this release. If you pre-order the album you will also get a bonus live vinyl LP (which we'll review at a later date), but the 2cd's bonus tracks include pretty much everything you could possibly find from this era in the way of radio sessions, b sides, outtakes etc. For me, it is a joy to hear two versions of 'Harness Your Hopes', already one of my favourite Pavement songs and a couple of work-in-progress versions of what turned out to be 'The Hexx'. There are also a couple of previously unreleased outtakes from the BTC sessions, both of which are excellent.

If you are a Pavement fan, you must buy this. If you want to know what all the fuss was/is about, this or 'Crooked Rain...' are the best places to start.

9.5

['Brighten The Corners...' is out in Novemeber, but if you pre-order NOW from Matador Records you get a stream of the album to listen to right now and all manner of goodies leading up the release date. Seriously one of the best reissue packages I have ever seen]

Stephen Malkmus 'Real Emotional Trash'

Back in 1994 my favourite three bands were Pavement, Tindersticks and Grant Lee Buffalo. Nothing lasts forever, Pavement and GLB both split five years later and Tindersticks are just returning after a four year hiatus with a modified line up. I've been disappointed with the solo careers of Stephen Malkmus and Grant Lee Phillips and I approached this, Malkmus' fourth post-Pavement LP, with some trepedation having bought it more out of a sense of duty than any genuine excitement.

'Real Emotional Trash' sees the return of Malkmus' backing band 'The Jicks' who were absent from 2005's dull 'Face The Truth'. This is a good thing and means this is Malkmus' first record to have a cohesive band sound since the days of Pavement. The sound is heavy on guitars with solos and jams dominating most of the songs but some interesting keyboard and drum parts feature too.

Malkmus sounds far more interested than he did on the previous two records, singing with real passion on the likes of 'Dragonfly Pie' and the superb closer 'Wicked Wanda'. The highlight though is undoubtably the ten minute title track. I have seen this described as overly long and boring. It isn't at all. Instead, it is a genuine epic, starting off slow and introspective and building into a stunning exploration of sound, melody and noise.

For the first time since his solo debut, Stephen Malkmus has produced an album that his both enjoyable and interesting to listen to and it improves with each listen as there are some strong melodies here underneath all of the guitar noise.

This album doesn't stop me wanting Pavement back but it is the best thing Malkmus has recorded since they split.
8.0