Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks—Wig Out at Jagbags

Review by Luis A. Apolaya

Even six albums after Pavement’s “hiatus” and Stephen Malkmus’s inception of his band the Jicks, the bandleader does not stray far from the territory he treaded as the leader of Pavement. The band borrows from a number of influences, all the while making use of the tongue-in-cheek creativity and eccentricity that characterized his work in the 90s. Recommended: 1, 6, 11, 12. RIYL Pavement, Television, Weezer’s Blue Album.

**1. (3:04) A lot of focus on fuzzy guitar, moderate tempo, catchy melody with unusual time signature.
*2. (3:35) Mid-tempo, smooth and laid-back feel, brief burst of instrumental improvisation by finish.
*3. (3:06) Happy and carefree feel, fun to listen to, vivid drums and guitar work.
4. (4:46) Starts with a loud instrumental storm, shifts to temperate mid-70’s romantic classic rock mood.
*5. (2:44) Dat bass doe, dark, Pixies-esque mood and instrumentation.
*6. (5:06) Mellow, laid back, almost coffeehouse-ambience indie rock, horn section and trombone solo included, distant, experimental guitar appears by the end, acoustic guitar finishes off track.
7. (1:41) “This one’s for you, grandaaaad!”, upbeat, tries to be punky and raunchy, finishes in a reggae groove.
*8. (3:49) Judging by the title and the song’s mood, this is a parody of how pop songs tend to sound, what a Neil Diamond song would sound like if Malkmus were to play electric guitar for it.
*9. (3:01) Slow and lots of smooth electric guitar, seems like Malkmus tries to emulate Lou Reed’s voice, in the end it does feel like a slow Lou Reed tune.
*10. (1:53) The band plays around with all the instruments in its disposition, nice wordplay, ends abruptly.
*11. (3:01) Moderately fast, fun to listen to the seemingly nonsensical lyrics, more great guitar work.
**12. (5:39) One of the more interesting tracks in the album for its unpredictability, starts subtly and softly with a couple spurts of sudden vivacity, then switches to a full-blast grungy chorus, and after another pause it finishes with the titular chorus.