Pavement has been both an icon and iconoclast for a generation of indierockers. The band's sound can sway between heartbreaking and throwaway and between high poetry and bathroom stall scribblings. This is mostly due to the extraterrestrial melodies and esoteric lyrics of frontman Stephen Malkmus. Pavement fans could appreciate the group's irony, clever wordplay and beautiful, discordant sounds, but could never get very close to the elusive Malkmus. "Is he a genius? Is he one of us? Is he making fun of us?"
For fans who shrugged their shoulders and just went with the flow, Malkmus' body of work was eminently clever and good, unpredictable fun. And despite the band's dissolution, these fans can expect more of his masterful, unique style on his self-titled solo debut album.
But for those Pavement fans whose hearts broke when they first heard "Slanted and Enchanted," and have been waiting for Malkmus to break their hearts again, this album will only disappoint.
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This said, "Stephen Malkmus" is a more revealing album than the last few Pavement albums have been. His sound is freer than it ever got in the 10 years Malkmus played with Pavement. The album is also a testament to a newfound freedom in life and in the studio. From the smiling photo on the CD cover to the beautifully tight sound of his new band, the Jicks, to a girlfriend who sings backup on the album, "Stephen Malkmus" finds Stephen Malkmus at peace.
You could say that he has matured - he's come a long way from his days at the University as a history major. But to say he's matured does not mean listeners can't expect more of the same nonsense from the 30-something indierocker. On "Phantasies," one of the disc's first tracks, he sings "I've got some lovely phantasies." This album is a testament to that lyric. He sings about Yule Brenner on "Jo-Jo's Jacket," he sings - convincingly - about his fantasy life with Turkish pirates on "The Hook" and he sings about Greek gods who "toast to Agamemmnon beneath the doric arch" on "Trojan Curfew."
The rest of the album's tracks, while no less fantastical, are more rooted in reality. They feature some of Malkmus' most penetrable lyrics. "Jenny and the Ess-Dog," the second single from the album, contains a linear story about an 18-year-old girl and a 31-year-old rocker who fall in and out of love. Malkmus has deflected any inquiries as to whether this song is autobio-graphical - but who knows.
For those who miss the good, old- fashioned Pavement ballad, fear not. This album is not short on slow, tangled melodies - the beautiful "Church on White" contains the album's best guitar solo.
While the album begins lightly with a few topical fantasy songs, it really brings it home in the second half. With songs like "Vague Space," "Jenny and the Ess-dog" and "Deado," Malkmus departs furthest from the Pavement formula with interesting results.
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On the whole, however, "Stephen Malkmus" sounds a whole lot like a Pavement album. His guitar and singing style have not changed much in his bandmates' absence.
The most significant change in his sound is that of a relaxed unity between himself and the Jicks - something he never had with Pavement. He has been known to say that the band never practiced songs together and sometimes did not record in the studio together. Malkmus has had the luxury on this album to be the undisputed leader of his band. He had the support to go with ideas and turn them into solid musical results.
With his solo debut, Stephen Malkmus will bring listeners more of the same music that has endeared him to fans for the past 10 years. And despite the unfortunate demise of Pavement, one of the most important rock bands of the '90s, the freedom that comes with going it alone may bring fans closer to the real Stephen Malkmus. If not that, at least we can expect more of the same beautiful disguises.
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