Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash

Don't call it a comeback but, with Real Emotional Trash, Stephen Malkmus proves as talented in '00s alt.rock as he was in '90s rock'n'roll. Melodic and coherent, the album has a momentum not found in earlier Jicks recordings thanks to Janet Weiss of Sleater Kinney fame on drumming duty. Stand out track Gardenia falls in to handclaps and jams to remind us of Malkmus's mastery of guitar licks. His writing has matured with the weight of age, most clearly on the eponymous title track, a 10-minute throwback to the blues and easy living. While nothing matches the insanely catchy riffs of 1 Percent of 1 or crazed villain Leather McWhip found on sophomore effort Pig Lib, Real Emotional Trash works better as a whole, an album you can leave on and fall asleep to, then wake up to and spend a decade with. [Hamza K]