Album: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Real Emotional Trash, (Domino)

"Of all my stoned digressions/Some have mutated into the truth" – in all the years he has been making records, has Stephen Malkmus ever written a more revealing line than the opening words of his fourth post-Pavement record?

With the most intuitive backing musicians he's gathered together since splitting up his band, Malkmus seems to have met his match in Sleater-Kinney/Quasi/ Bright Eyes drummer Janet Weiss. So even though wilfully weird phrases trip off his tongue in all directions, for once it's never at the expense of a tune. This 'Real Emotional Trash' is pure musical treasure.