Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus embodied the slacker spirit of the 1990s as Pavement’s frontman, yet his solo trajectory after the band’s 1999 hiatus revealed a willingness to experiment beyond those earlier confines. His self-titled debut arrived in winter 2001 via Matador, following an initial plan to issue it independently or through a Portland label; the collection had first been called Swedish Reggae before settling on its final name. Around the same period he assembled the Jicks, a Portland-based unit that gave him room to explore extended improvisations both live and in the studio. Core members bassist Joanna Bolme and keyboardist-guitarist Mike Clark anchored the lineup across multiple drummers, supporting acclaimed releases such as Real Emotional Trash in 2008 and Sparkle Hard in 2018 while also enabling side trips that included the 2016 score for Will Arnett’s series Flaked, the largely electronic Groove Denied in 2019, and the psych-folk follow-up Traditional Techniques in 2020.

Once Pavement’s break became official, Malkmus spent early 2000 writing and testing material in Holland alongside Kim’s Bedroom, a short-lived ensemble that featured Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Jim O'Rourke. Recording took place near his adopted hometown of Portland, where he worked with drummer-percussionist John Moen and Bolme; Moen brought experience from the Fastbacks, Dharma Bums, and his own project the Maroons, while Bolme contributed her background with the Minders and her engineering work at Jackpot Studios, the site where Pavement had demoed Terror Twilight. Matador ultimately took the project after receiving a copy, and by November 2000, when Malkmus confirmed the breakup in Spin, the label had scheduled the album for release. The Jicks made their first appearance that January at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, then toured Britain and the United States, including a South by Southwest showcase alongside Mogwai and the reunited Soft Boys; former Pavement member Bob Nastanovich handled tour management, and Elastica’s Justine Frischmann sat in on guitar for select shows.

Pig Lib, issued in 2003, credited the Jicks equally with Malkmus, underscoring its more collective, darker and more psychedelic character. Face the Truth followed in 2005, reflecting Malkmus’s newfound domestic life through a playful tone absent from his work since Wowee Zowee and blending solo and band performances. Janet Weiss, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, joined on drums for Real Emotional Trash in 2008, adding weight to its sprawling psychedelic passages. Mirror Traffic appeared in 2011 with Beck producing and Weiss making her final appearance behind the kit; shortly before its release Malkmus relocated his family to Berlin, an upheaval that informed his next set of songs. Working again with longtime Pavement live engineer Remko Schouten, he tracked Wig Out at Jagbags, which surfaced in 2014. Four years later the Jicks returned with Sparkle Hard, produced by Chris Funk of the Decemberists and led by the single “Shiggy” along with the earlier “Middle America” and the Kim Gordon collaboration “Refute.” Groove Denied, an electronic-leaning solo effort, had actually been submitted to Matador before Sparkle Hard; the label chose to prioritize the Jicks album first, prompting Malkmus to title the 2019 release accordingly. Traditional Techniques arrived in 2020 as a psych-folk statement again produced by Funk and featuring guitar from Matt Sweeney.