STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS - Wig Out At Jagbags

Malkmus and co. follow up 2011's Mirror Traffic with more ever-detached observations and lyrical absurdity matched with proggy, '70s-indebted riffs and licks, as the Jicks somehow simultaneously shrug and showboat their way through yet another impressive effort.

"The fact is no one sounds like Stephen Malkmus, no matter how hard some have tried. Interviewing him a few years ago, I noticed that even when he talks he's got his own neo-boho vocabulary. Wig Out At Jagbags is loaded with Malkmisms (from the song titles right down to the album name itself). There's also a sense of reflection, especially on songs like 'Rumble At The Rainbo' and first single 'Lariat,' which contains the line 'We grew up listening to the music from the best decade ever / Talkin' 'bout the ADDs.' There are plenty more wry lines throughout, but they come off less like jabs and more like they should be accompanied by a wink.

Wordplay aside, the music is simpler—no extended guitar jams—but Malkmus is still a damn fine axeman. He rocks out on 'Scattegories' (with the line 'Mott the Hoople’s got no scruples') and closer “Surreal Teenagers.'" - Paste