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Apr 25, 2018 Stephen Malkmus By Christopher Roberts

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Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are releasing a new album, Sparkle Hard, on May 18 via Matador. Now they have shared another new song from it, “Refute.” It features the guest vocals of Kim Gordon (formerly of Sonic Youth). Listen below, followed by the band’s upcoming tour dates.

In a press release Malkmus says the idea behind “Refute” was to “queer the duet,” by messing with “Nashville tropes in light of current trends in evolutionary psychology” and reversing “the classic He Said/She Said narrative, where in this case the ‘wife’ is the cheater, and the omniscient narrator enters at the end to offer cold comfort.”

In February the band led by the former Pavement frontman shared a brand new song, “Middle America,” which is featured on the new album (and was one of our Songs of the Week and was also featured in our Soundtracking the Resistance music and politics column). Then when Sparkle Hard was announced in March they shared its next single, “Shiggy,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week.

Sparkle Hard is the band’s seventh album and the follow-up to 2014’s Wig Out At Jagbags. The band features singer/songwriter/guitarist Malkmus, along with Mike Clark (keyboards), Joanna Bolme (bass), and Jake Morris (drums). Malkmus started writing the album in 2015. All the demos were recorded in one day in April 2017. Then recording of the album started in May 2017. Chris Funk of The Decemberists produced the album, which was recorded in Halfling, a new studio in Portland managed by Funk.

In February, the day before “Middle America” was released, the band shared a 20-second teaser video via their Twitter account that appeared to be a clip from a new music video, with Malkmus singing on the roof of a building.

A previous press release described the album as such: “Self-indulgent escapism has never been The Jicks’ bag, but on Sparkle Hard, the reality of modern life sits closer to the surface, communication cutting to the chase whether it’s a proto-punk grind or a back-porch country duet doing the talking. A cleaner burn for dark and complex times.”

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Tour Dates:

6/1/18 - St. Paul, MN - Turf Club SOLD OUT
6/2/18 - Milwaukee, WI - The Back Room at Colectivo SOLD OUT
6/3/18 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall SOLD OUT
6/5/18 - Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups SOLD OUT
6/6/18 - Pittsburgh, PA - Rex Theater
6/7/18 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
6/8/18 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
6/9/18 - Toronto, ON - Lee’s Palace SOLD OUT
6/11/18 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Fairmount
6/12/18 - Cambridge, MA - The Sinclair SOLD OUT
6/14/18 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg SOLD OUT
6/15/18 - Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg SOLD OUT
6/16/18 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
6/17/18 - Washington, DC - Black Cat
6/19/18 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle
6/20/18 - Athens, GA - The Georgia Theatre
6/21/18 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge
6/22/18 - Louisville, KY - Zanzabar
6/23/18 - Cincinnati, OH - The Woodward Theater
7/17/18 - Petaluma, CA - Mystic Theatre
7/18/18 - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s
7/20/18 - San Diego, CA - Casbah SOLD OUT
7/21 - Los Angeles, CA - FYF Fest
7/22/18 - Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom
7/23/18 - Albuquerque NM - Launchpad
7/25/18 - Austin, TX - The Mohawk
7/26/18 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall
7/27/18 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
7/28/18 - Tulsa, OK - The Vanguard
7/29/18 - Kansas City, MO - Record Bar
7/31/18 - Englewood, CO - Gothic Theatre
8/1/18 - Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
8/3/18 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre
8/4/18 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
8/5/18 - Portland, OR - Star Theater

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