Stephen Malkmus - Baltimore: Track Review

New Stephen Malkmus anyone?

The former lead singer of Pavement, who released the greatest indie-rock album evar according to the most recent issue of Blender, has a new album called Real Emotional Trash coming out March 4th, which just so happens to be my 27th birthday. (Yikes, to think of how little I've done with my life!)

I'm assuming this is meant as more of a follow-up to 2003's Pig Lib than 2005's Face the Truth, since this album carries the group name Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, where as that album was considered a Stephen Malkmus solo release, if I'm not mistaken. Honestly, I can't remember too much about that album. I think I just listened to it once or twice and decided I didn't like it as much as Pig Lib, let alone some of the Pavement albums.

Will that also be the case with Real Emotional Trash? Based on this single, I'd have to say: probably. It's certainly got it's share of wacky but now kinda de riguer Stephen Malkmus-isms, but there isn't anything about it that's especially good or especially interesting, now is there? Neither this song's melody nor any of the lyrics is particularly memorable as far as these things go.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks - "Baltimore" [Matador via P-fork, who also has an interview with Stephen Malkmus re: Real Emotional Trash]