Sparkle Hard
| Sparkle Hard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks – Sparkle Hard.png | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 18, 2018 | |||
| Studio | Halfling Studios, Portland, Oregon | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 43:41 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Chris Funk | |||
| Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sparkle Hard | ||||
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Sparkle Hard is the seventh studio album by American indie rock band Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, released on May 18, 2018, by Matador Records and Domino Records.[1] It reached #174 on the Billboard 200 charts,[2] and peaked at #64 on the Official UK Charts.[3]
Critical reception
[edit | edit source]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.9/10[4] |
| Metacritic | 84/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| The A.V. Club | B+[7] |
| Financial Times | |
| The Guardian | |
| Mojo | |
| The Observer | |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[12] |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| Uncut | 8/10[15] |
Sparkle Hard was critically acclaimed upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an average score of 84, based on 26 reviews.[5] Jem Aswad of Variety said that "With nary a weak track, Sparkle Hard finds Malkmus hitting a new peak nearly 30 years into his career."[16]
Several publications named the album one of the best of 2018, including: Rolling Stone,[17] Spin,[18] Q,[19] Uncut,[20] Mojo,[21] Under the Radar,[22] and Consequence of Sound.[23]
Track listing
[edit | edit source]All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cast Off" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "Future Suite" | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Solid Silk" | 4:37 |
| 4. | "Bike Lane" | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Middle America" | 3:31 |
| 6. | "Rattler" | 3:08 |
| 7. | "Shiggy" | 3:16 |
| 8. | "Kite" | 6:40 |
| 9. | "Brethren" | 2:51 |
| 10. | "Refute" | 3:24 |
| 11. | "Difficulties / Let Them Eat Vowels" | 7:03 |
| Total length: | 43:41 | |
Personnel
[edit | edit source]- Stephen Malkmus – vocals, songwriting, guitar, mellotron, piano, Memorymoog, bass
- Joanna Bolme – bass, backing vocals
- Mike Clark – keyboards, JUNO synthesizer
- Jake Morris – drums, backing vocals, percussion
- Chris Funk – production, acoustic slide guitar (10)
- Kim Gordon – vocals (10)
- Kyleen King – strings (3, 9)
- Luke Price – fiddle (10)
- JJ Golden – lacquer cut
- Adam Lee – recording, mixing
- Orion Landau – design
- James Rexroad – photography
References
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