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Sparkle Hard |
Sparkle Hard |
Regular price
$ 16.99 USD
Regular price
$ 16.99 USD
Sale price
$ 16.99 USD
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Description
Description
Personnel: Stephen Malkmus (vocals, guitar, piano, Mellotron); Mike Clark (keyboards); Jake Morris (drums, percussion, background vocals); Joanna Bolme (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Adam Lee.
Recording information: Halfling Studios (2017); Shamrock Justice West (2017).
Sparkle Hard comes into focus slowly and stately, coalescing around crawling piano chords that soon get blown to bits by guitars -- thereby offering a neat encapsulation of how this, the seventh album Stephen Malkmus has made since disbanding Pavement in 1999, walks a fine line between the familiar and the unexpected. Upon the first spin, Sparkle Hard seems to veer all over the place, bouncing from the finely etched pop of "Future Suite" to the Teutonic jam of "Bike Lane," eventually winding up on the country-rock ramble of "Refute," a duet with Kim Gordon, who has never before been heard with anything resembling a twang (and likely never will again). The diversity dazzles, particularly as it's filled with elegant new accents to make familiar settings seem fresh, even when they're firmly within Malkmus' laconic wheelhouse; witness his pitch-shifted vocals on "Rattler," which give the song's robotic rhythms a woozy sway, or how the pastoral beginnings of "Kite" get blown out with psychedelic wah-wahs and rushed rhythms. Such flair suggests that Malkmus designed Sparkle Hard as a way to flex his musical muscles, but for as alluring as the album's sound is -- and the record lives up to its title, glistening brightly with its panoramic guitars and coiled rhythms -- it remains compelling upon repeated plays because, beneath the shimmering surface, this is not only one of his best collections of songs, but a record that acts like a casual summation of his enduring obsessions. His youthful sneer has mellowed so much that he now sounds sincere, which helps cast his willful weirdness in a different light. Malkmus may still stand on the outside smirking, poaching different elements of the underground and mainstream, assembling them in a fashion that's undeniably unique, but the craft and cleverness of Sparkle Hard can't disguise the simple fact that he means this music, man. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
- Format Detail: CD standard Digipak
- Format: CD
- Genre: ROCK
- Handling Note: **Please allow an additional 72 hours for this item's shipment.**
- Released: 05/18/2018
- Internal ID: JITRE
Condition Ratings & Details
Condition Ratings & Details
NOTE: Every title includes condition ratings. The first rating pertains to the physical media, and the second grade pertains to the sleeve.
NOTE: Images may not be exact. Please refer to the description to determine whether the images are Actual Photos or Photos Not Actual. New records will likely use generic web photos to represent the product.
Condition Ratings
- MINT (M): Perfect, brand new, unplayed.
- Near Mint (NM): Like new, barely played, will play perfectly.
- Excellent (EX): Very close to near mint, with minor cosmetic wear. Will play perfectly.
- Very Good Plus (VG+): Light cosmetic blemishes that do not affect play. Close to perfect playback.
- Very Good (VG): Some light marks that may cause minor noise during playback. Still enjoyable and plays well.
- Good Plus (G+): Noticeable noise during playback. Only listed if of collector value. Not ideal for listening.
Sleeve Details
- PHOTOS ACTUAL: The photo is an original image of the exact item you will receive.
- PHOTOS NOT ACTUAL: The photo is sourced from the web and may differ slightly from the actual item.
