Traditional Techniques
Traditional Techniques is the third solo album by American musician Stephen Malkmus (technically fourth, as the 2001 album does not officially credit The Jicks), it is the ninth project in Stephen's career since Pavement disbanded, all told it is the fourteenth album released in his career. It was released on March 6, 2020 by Matador Records and Domino Recording Company.[1][2]
Traditional Techniques | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 6, 2020 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:05 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Chris Funk | |||
Stephen Malkmus chronology | ||||
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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.[5]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.5/10[6] |
Metacritic | 81/100[7] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
American Songwriter | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
DIY | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Loud and Quiet | 8/10[11] |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[5] |
PopMatters | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Skinny | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Slant Magazine | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spectrum Culture | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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 81, based on seventeen reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7]
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".[11]
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".[17]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Stephen Malkmus.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "ACC Kirtan" | 6:19 |
2. | "Xian Man" | 4:07 |
3. | "The Greatest Own In Legal History" | 3:48 |
4. | "Cash Up" | 4:07 |
5. | "Shadowbanned" | 3:23 |
6. | "What Kind Of Person" | 3:28 |
7. | "Flowin' Robes" | 2:52 |
8. | "Brainwashed" | 4:59 |
9. | "Signal Western" | 3:46 |
10. | "Amberjack" | 4:16 |
Total length: | 41:05 |
Credits
- Stephen Malkmus – composer, lead vocals, guitar, bass
- Chris Funk – autoharp, dobro, Moog synthesizer, pedal steel, weissenborn, producer
- Blake Mills – guitar
- Bill Athens – bass
- Qais Essar – rabab
- Eric Zang – daf, kaval, udu
- Matt Sweeney – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Spooner Oldham – wurlitzer
- Joy Pearson – vocals
- Dan Hunt – drums, percussion
Additional credits
- Sharmila Banerjee – illustrations
- Jan Lankisch – design
- Adam Lee – mixing
- Jeff Lipton – mastering
- Maria Rice – mastering
- Jason Quigley – photography
References
- Shaffer, Claire (2020-01-22). "Stephen Malkmus Announces New Album 'Traditional Techniques', Shares 'Xian Man'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Moore, Sam (2020-01-22). "Listen to Stephen Malkmus' 'Xian Man' from his new album 'Traditional Techniques'". NME. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Eede, Christian. "Stephen Malkmus Announces New Album". The Quietus. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Schatz, Lake (2020-01-22). "Stephen Malkmus announces new album Traditional Techniques, plots North American tour". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Rytlewski, Evan. "Stephen Malkmus: Traditional Techniques Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- "Traditional Techniques by Stephen Malkmus reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- "Traditional Techniques by Stephen Malkmus Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review of Traditional Techniques at AllMusic. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
- Chris, Rutledge. "Stephen Malkmus Drops New Phase of Folk on 'Traditional Techniques'". American Songwriter. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Doherty, Jack. "Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques". DIY. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Walton, Sam. "Stephen Malkmus - Traditional Techniques - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Rigotti, Alex (2020-03-06). "Stephen Malkmus – 'Traditional Techniques' review: folky experimentalism and dad jokes galore". NME. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Cochrun, Kyle. "Stephen Malkmus Goes Folk on 'Traditional Techniques'". PopMatters. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Wade, Lewis. "Stephen Malkmus – Traditional Techniques". The Skinny. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Rowin, Michael Joshua. "Review: Stephen Malkmus's Traditional Techniques Challenges Form and Function". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Hazelwood, Holly. "Stephen Malkmus: Traditional Techniques". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Christgau, Robert (July 8, 2020). "Consumer Guide: July, 2020". And It Don't Stop. Substack. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- "Stephen Malkmus Traditional Techniques". Retrieved March 8, 2020.