The American musician—best known as the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Pavement—is back with his third solo LP…
Stephen Malkmus has announced that his new album, Traditional Techniques, is out 6 March, along with dates for a North American tour. This latest album is being described as new-phase folk music for new-phase folks, with Malkmus as attuned as ever to the rhythms of the ever-evolving lingual slipstream. It’s reportedly packed with handmade arrangements, modern folklore, and 10 songs written and performed in his singular voice.
The adventurous new album creates a serendipitous trilogy with the loose fuzz of the Jicks’ Sparkle Hard (2018) and the solo bedroom experiments of Groove Denied (2019). Taken together, these three very different full-lengths in three years highlight an ever-curious songwriter committed to finding untouched territory.
Centred around Malkmus’ 12-string acoustic guitar, and informed by a half-century of folk-rock reference points, Traditional Techniques is the product of Malkmus and Halfling engineer/arranger-in-residence Chris Funk (The Decemberists). Additionally, Matt Sweeney (Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Chavez) plays guitar throughout.
Malkmus will embark on a North American tour this spring with an entirely new band (more shows will be announced in the weeks to come). The Traditional Techniques live band is Malkmus (vocals, guitar), Funk (pedal steel, keys), Sweeney (guitar), Brad Truax (bass), and Jake Morris (drums), joined at times by Qais Essar (rabab) and Eric Zang (kaval, udu, daf). A full list of dates can be found here and tickets are on sale Friday 24 January at 10am local time.