[Runs in from another room] GUYS! Guys!. Guys… Woah. Mirror Traffic, the new Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks album, comes out next Tuesday, and it’s really fucking good. Although the whole point of these weekly posts is to give you one song per week to really listen and digest, I am obligated to point out that the entire album is streaming over at NPR until its August 23rd release.

“Forever 28” showcases all the things we as a people have come to expect from Stephen Malkmus and have missed dearly since Pavement. Hyper-literate lyrics – check. Poetic uses of curse words – check. Searing guitar licks – check.  Although there is still no comparison to his 90’s songwriting prowess, this is the tightest Malkmus and the Jicks have ever sounded. But if the whole not-as-good-as-the-90’s thing is still too much of an obstacle, maybe you’ll sleep easier knowing that indie auteur Beck produced this entire album. Say what you will, I know am going to thoroughly enjoy this track and geek about anything Stephen Malkmus ever does.

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