Sparkle Hard
2018 studio album by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
| Sparkle Hard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 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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Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.9/10[4] |
| Metacritic | 84/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| The A.V. Club | B+[7] |
| Financial Times |  [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| Mojo | [10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10[12] |
| Q | [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| 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
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
- 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