Sparkle Hard, the new album from Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks, is light ’n’ breezy, head-down heavy, audacious, melancholic and reflective, good-time and bodacious, and it pulls off the smartest trick: it’s both unmistakeably The Jicks and – due to the streamlining of their trademark tics and turns, plus the introduction of some unexpected flourishes – The Jicks refashioned. Where 2014’s Wig Out At Jag Bags balanced the lengthy prog workouts of Pig Lib with Mirror Traffic’s sparky pop moments, Sparkle Hard bears less obvious direct relation to what’s come before.
The reality of modern life sits close to the surface on Sparkle Hard, cutting to the chase whether it’s a proto-punk grind or a back-porch country duet doing the talking. The album also has turbocharged energy and enthusiasm by the truckload.
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