Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are a rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus (vocals, guitar), Joanna Bolme (bass, vocals), Mike Clark (keyboards) and Jake Morris (drums). The band has released five albums: “Stephen Malkmus” (2001), “Pig Lib” (2003), “Face the Truth” (2005), “Real Emotional Trash” (2008) and “Mirror Traffic” (2011). Malkmus was the lead singer and primary songwriter for Pavement.
The Jicks formed in 2000 in Portland, Oregon, United States, almost immediately after Pavement’s 1999 “hiatus” began. The group’s first record - which had a working title of Swedish Reggae - was simply called Stephen Malkmus. It was released by Matador Records on February 13th, 2001. At least a few of the songs were proposed Pavement songs before the group disbanded.
The group made their official live debut at New York’s Bowery Ballroom only a few weeks before their first record was released. Around this time, Pavement’s auxiliary percussionist Bob Nastanovich began acting as The Jicks’ manager.
Pig Lib was the name of the band’s second record, which was released in 2003. The songs had a much looser yet darker feel, and the band sounds more comfortable playing with one another. Malkmus has since expressed regret in some of the decisions he made with putting certain songs on this record. The album received decent reviews, gaining 3/5 stars from Allmusic and an 8.0/10 from Pitchfork Media.
