Is Stephen Malkmus even a real person? An entity that puts out fantastic work as consistently as Malkmus does can?t be human; it just isn?t possible. But if it were, only Malkmus could pull it off. With the help of new-ish band the Jicks, he once again slices off a little piece of heaven for the rest of the world, this time calling it Real Emotional Trash.
For the majority of the album, especially during the extended jams, Malkmus lets his guitar do the talking for him. His ax is the real star here, shrieking, singing and humming over the course of this 55-minute masterwork. This is Malkmus? Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Hell, it might very well be better than the Neil Young classic.
Much of the record recalls 1970s Album Oriented Rock radio. The songs sound as if they were destined to be classic rock staples in 20 years. Thus, there is no hint of this record being recorded in 2008 anywhere in the songwriting ? thank God.
Trash opens with ?Dragonfly Pie,? which contains a rather ominous riff that suggests this album is best enjoyed during a windy, hot August night. But this is a bit of a red herring, as the rest of the song (and album) is as breezy as can be ? on the surface anyway.
Below this lighthearted sugarcoated shell lies a rather dark lyrical center. A line like ?Can?t be what?cha oughta be/ Gotta be what?cha wanna be/ Take it with pride/ And like a dragonfly/ Dragonfly wants a piece of pie/ But he is so strung out? gives this record a rather moody underbelly. It?s almost as if Malkmus wants to suggest that even in the joy of summer, shit can still go wrong.
Not all songs have lyrics that cast a shadow over the music, though. Late album highlight ?Gardenia? opens with the insanely brilliant line, ?I kinda like the way you dot your J?s/ With giant circles of naivete.? Sure it?s kind of cynical, but the way he sings it, you?d never know it was anything less than a charming witticism sent from Cupid himself.
?Hopscotch Willie? also showcases Malkmus? ability to tell a story ? and it?s a compelling one at that. In addition, the song features some of the best Jicks interplay on the whole album aside from the epic title track. The band jams during the middle third of the song as if this was the last thing they ever put to record, and the seven minutes somehow pass by just as breezily as the record itself. Malkmus hasn?t sounded this sure of himself since that ?other? band he was in released Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain.
The only fault I can find with Real Emotional Trash is the fact that it is being released at the wrong time. This is most definitely a summer record, and something as feathery as this has no business coming out in early March. Then again, perhaps this is Mr. Malkmus? gift to those suffering winter?s bite: He wants to warm us up with sheer joy, if only for an hour.
4 1/2 stars out of 5
