Authentic yacht rock
Here’s the thing about genres in the 2010s: the lines are starting to get blurred to the point where entire decades can be a genre now. I say this, not to necessarily claim that Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks can be pinned down to such a broad umbrella term, but more because when you hit play on “Cast Off,” the opener to their newest album, Sparkle Hard, you’re taken aback by just how authentic feeling the retro tributes are getting these days. Dusty, simple piano riff accompanied by nothing but an exotically backdropped sailing picture as the album cover. The ’70s aesthetics could not be more natural; leisure suit yacht rock was a huge staple of the time, and gives Stephen and his trusty Jicks all the cred in the world.
The following song “Future Suite” only deepens this story by giving that soft, shining guitar chord progression that reminds listeners what gave The Strokes their iconic sound: a ’70s sleekness. But the thing is that a lot of bands would throw this very sleekness and make a spectacle out of it. “Future Suite,” though, actually delivers what these sounds warrant: leisure! As the groove fades into the background of a now much happier environment, you don’t at all notice how expertly SM&J have created an atmosphere until 2:14, when the quirky, driving beat of the ending section solidifies their musical creativity.
The next stop on this cruise takes the listener to “Middle America,” which delivers all that the title promises. The beauty of the song is really how little there is to describe it with because it simply sounds like a drive in your friends Volkswagen bus around the neighborhood. Sparkle Hard just does such a great job of drawing on the familiar, but still not sounding tired. Because, for the love of God, it’s so easy to do this genre in the worst way possible.
And, of course, the bus absolutely has to stop at the garage to plug in some Fenders and jam out. That’s what “Rattler” and “Shiggy” give off, still with that tame sensibility that makes the journey cohesive. By this point, one should know exactly what sound to expect when the next song is entitled “Kite.” Such a jingly, friendly pluck of the guitar strings greets the ears throughout the song that it makes one downright misty. The final songs, from “Refute” to “Difficulties – Let Them Eat Vowels” stay right in the middle of the road that this journey has traveled the whole way through. But just like the best of road trips, (or…sailboat trips?) the time passes like a gentle breeze and is over before you know it.
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