Chances are you will of already heard the name ‘Stephen Malkmus‘ – lead singer of Indie Rock royalty ‘Pavement,’ but not so many, and not nearly enough know that as Pavement went on haitus, Malkmus kept himself busy by going on to form The Jicks and that ‘Mirror Traffic‘ is infact their 5th album to date. Mirror Traffic sees ‘Beck’ putting down his guitar and getting behind the production desk once again, just months after finishing producing ‘Thurston Moores‘ solo album ‘Demolished Thoughts‘
Album opener ‘Tigers‘ sets the bar high with a Pavement-esque feel to it which grabs your attention from the second you press play. ‘Tigers‘ has a laid back jamming out feel to it which suits Malkmus’s softly spoken vocals flawlessly.
‘Senator‘ is a song that Jicks fans should already be aware of with SM&TJ running a competition to make the chorus of ‘I know what the senator wants/ what the senator wants is a blowjob’ more radio friendly, with the winner getting a ‘one-of-a-kind’ pressing of the 7″ single to be cherished with the same kind of love you give to a new born baby. Even with the competition to find a more radio friendly version of this song, ‘senator’ is one of the more poppy and radio friendly ventures into ‘Mirror Traffic.’
‘Tune Grief‘ is the stand out punk track on ‘Mirror Traffic’ with the instruments turned up to 11 and the vocals of Malkmus taking a shouty turn. ‘Tune Grief’ is sure to go down well with the audience when The Jicks hit the road this summer.
‘Mirror Traffic‘ finishes with ‘Gorgeous Georgie‘ a track that has the same Jicks vibe that is consistent throughout ‘Mirror Traffic’ which makes for pleasant listening
‘Mirror Traffic‘ could probably do without a couple of songs that tend to make the album drag but what’s good is brilliant and should be an enchanting listen for fans of Malkmus/The Jicks.
Great introduction to the record. Will definitely give this album a listen.