Mirror Traffic

As the sarcastic and playful lead singer of Pavement, Stephen Malkmus found himself with the label of “slacker prince” for his obvious indifference to the trappings of the traditional rock singer and his lazy vocal delivery that often sounded like he was reading the paper. Pavement reunited in 2010 just after the sessions for this album, which were recorded with Malkmus’ other group, the Jicks. Producer Beck Hansen understands the Malkmus dynamic and the album is essentially a straightforward and deliberately modest band recording where the excitement is embedded deep in the lyrics and the subtle musical strokes. “Stick Figures In Love” features wooden guitar lines. “Spazz” throws Malkmus into a falsetto while the band noodles between classic rock guitars, prog-rock choirs and jam- band wanderings. “Forever 28” bounces like a pop song until it runs into mangled hard rock guitars. “Asking Price,” “Senator” and “Tigers” play like classic-period Pavement. “Jumblegloss” is a perfect space interlude. Whether backed by Pavement or the Jicks, Malkmus sticks to his gameplan.