This is the fifth solo album from the ex-Pavement singer and it’s produced by Beck Hansen. As a teenager I had musical obsessions with both Pavement and Beck, collecting all their releases. Wowee Zowee, Slanted and Enchanted, Odelay and Mellow Gold - these are some of the best albums ever made.

The last few records by both Stephen Malkmus and Beck Hansen may have been a bit meh, but still the thought of the two giants of nineties American lo-fi together is pretty damn exciting. A little baggage brought to this review then...

The album starts on a hook filled pop high with 'Tigers' and the great opening lyrics "I caught you streaking in your Birkenstocks / A scary thought…".

Second track 'No one is (As I are be)' has a heavy Beck influence, particularly from the Mutations / Sea Change albums, changing the mood to a pastoral folky haze.

“I cannot even do one sit up, sit ups are so bourgeoisie, I’m busy hanging out and spending your money, what does it mean?”

A change of pace again with the next track, 'Senator', an abrasive angular guitar and the catchy chorus “I know what the Senator wants, what the senator wants is a blow-job”.

The album continues in this experimental and varied vein, all tracks with Malkmus's brilliant lyrics and trademark delivery. Gone are the extended free-form jams of his last two solo records and we're back to tightly constructed melodic left-field pop. Each listen reveals more, there's a lot going on here and I guess it's what they call a grower.

Malkmus albums may have diminished in quality ever since the majestic Wowee Zowee but with Mirror Traffic that trend is being reversed, it’s a vast improvement on the last two but given the involvement of Beck this should have been so much greater. It’s because Pavement were so impossibly brilliant that expectations are so high.

I would have liked some of the harshness and roughness of Pavement but that's never going to happen again. When Pavement reunited for live shows in 2010, Bob Nastanovich noted that "Stephen does not write songs for Pavement anymore, or songs in the Pavement mindset". He's right, Malkmus has moved forward or at the very least has shuffled marginally to the side.

If you’re already a Pavement fan then definitely get this over his other solo records. If you’re new to the world of Malkmus and or Beck and you like interesting, adventurous music I can’t recommend “Slanted and Enchanted” and “Mellow Gold” enough. Get these, play them to death and work your way forward through time.

9

Richard A Bennett