Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Sparkle Hard LP

Description

The fact that Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks have thrived, rather than simply endured, over 17 yearsanddelivered six albums of buzzy, sub-cultural significance, constitutes an impressive legacy. The challenge with album number seven is one that any successful band with integrity faces: how to safeguard that legacyandhold on to their identity without rehashing old ground (unthinkable),andalso say something meaningful while (crucially) having fun doing it? With Sparkle Hard, Malkmus, Mike Clark (keyboards), Joanna Bolme (bass)andJake Morris (drums) do exactly that. Its light n breezy, head-down heavy, audacious, melancholicandreflective, goodtimeandbodacious,andit pulls off the smartest trick: its both unmistakeably The Jicksand due to the streamlining of their trademark ticsandturns, plus the introduction of some unexpected flourishes (Auto-Tune! A fiddle! Guest vocalist Kim Gordon! One seven-minute song with an acoustic folk intro!) The Jicks refashioned. If 2014s Wig Out At Jag Bags balanced the lengthy prog workouts of Pig Lib with Mirror Traffics sparky pop moments, then Sparkle Hard bears less obvious direct relation to whats come before. It also has turbocharged energyandenthusiasm by the truckload.