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Review: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks shine on 'Sparkle Hard'

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, "Sparkle Hard" (Matador)

Stephen Malkmus' seventh album fronting the Jicks is a tight, tasteful set of asymmetrical jams.

"Cast Off" sets the tone with Malkmus sauntering in and admitting "I need some attention" before a cascade of guitar haze envelops the scene. Before you know it he's singing about "fiscal plague/information dust/piled over everyone," and laying out the album's blueprint: "It's so contagious."ˆ 

An array of dizzying styles are made to fit his oeuvre. There's a stately, violin-led segue, "doggerel verse" and even Auto-Tune to help blur the message. "Future Suite" trades in equal parts rare groove and choogle, amounting to pure California ease. Above the breeziness, talk of "synthetic cosmic dust" gives way to a fondness for The Incredible String Band on the exit launch.ˆ 

"Bike Lane" pokes fun at their urban proliferation and namechecks Freddie Gray, undercutting the focus on something like that against a life expectancy of "max 25." Malkmus mocks the situation in a Ray Davies-like drawl as the whole band punches it for the theoretical getaway.ˆ 

The poignant "Middle America" is the best song here, a languid ramble with hooks to spare and the line "you should be blushin'/to a hue of Robitussin."

"Refute" returns to the range musically but the duet with Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon is a tale about falling for an au pair "that jumps off the page." ''Kite" is mostly a guitar conversation with Malkmus breaking off a celestial solo for the ages.ˆ 

On the recalcitrant "Shiggy," Malkmus reminds us that he's "come from the underground." And that still resonates. But he's never rested on his laurels. At one point he declares, "I will not be one of the watchers/I will not disappear."

"Sparkle Hard" makes that loud and clear.

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