Traditional Techniques Explained

Traditional Techniques
Type:studio
Artist:Stephen Malkmus
Cover:Cover of Traditional Techniques by Stephen Malkmus.jpg
Genre:
Label:
Producer:Chris Funk
Prev Title:Groove Denied
Prev Year:2019
Year:2020

Traditional Techniques is a solo album by American musician Stephen Malkmus, the fourth album credited to Malkmus and the second to not feature his band the Jicks. It is the ninth project in Malkmus's career since Pavement disbanded, and the fourteenth album released in his career. It was released on March 6, 2020, by Matador Records and Domino Recording Company.[1] [2]

Background and recording

Malkmus conceived the idea for Traditional Techniques during the recording of Sparkle Hard.[3] According to a press release, the concept gained traction and became a fully realized album in a matter of weeks.[4] Recording of the album took place in Portland, Oregon, at Halfling Studio. The album was produced by Chris Funk of The Decemberists and features guitarist Matt Sweeney and musician Qais Essar.

Critical reception

Traditional Techniques received positive reviews from music critics. Many critics praised Malkmus' foray into folk music. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 80, based on eighteen reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Writing for Loud and Quiet, Sam Walton gave the album a positive review, praising it as "an expertly written and performed exploration of muted psych-rock and various strands of folk music".

Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention in his Substack-published "Consumer Guide" column, highlighting the songs "Xian Man" and "Cash Up" while writing in summation: "It’s more than cool, as it had better be, that he’s matured from willfully acerbic to willingly pretty, but he’s too smart not to know in the heart he’s proud to have that while acerbic feeds on chaos, pretty is better off explaining itself".[5]

Credits

Additional credits

Notes and References

  1. Shaffer . Claire . Stephen Malkmus Announces New Album 'Traditional Techniques', Shares 'Xian Man' . . 6 March 2020 . 2020-01-22 . January 23, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200123132942/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/stephen-malkmus-traditional-techniques-xian-man-940897/ . live .
  2. Web site: Moore . Sam . Listen to Stephen Malkmus' 'Xian Man' from his new album 'Traditional Techniques' . . 6 March 2020 . 2020-01-22 . February 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200225202900/https://www.nme.com/news/music/stephen-malkmus-traditional-techniques-new-album-xian-man-2599916 . live .
  3. Web site: Eede . Christian . Stephen Malkmus Announces New Album . . 6 March 2020 . October 31, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201031074318/https://thequietus.com/articles/27713-stephen-malkmus-new-album-traditional-techniques . live .
  4. Web site: Schatz . Lake . Stephen Malkmus announces new album Traditional Techniques, plots North American tour . . 6 March 2020 . 2020-01-22 . April 7, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200407233118/https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/01/stephen-malkmus-traditional-techniques-tour-dates-tickets/ . live .
  5. Web site: Christgau. Robert. Robert Christgau. July 8, 2020. Consumer Guide: July, 2020. And It Don't Stop. Substack. July 14, 2020. subscription. July 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200715135208/https://robertchristgau.substack.com/p/consumer-guide-july-2020. live.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Traditional Techniques".

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