Malkmus--it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. There's a pretty good chance you've never heard of the Malkman, nor the Band he fronted throughout most of the 90's--critic's main-squeeze and Indie faves Pavement. Just to get you up to speed, Steve was the reluctant-yet quintessential Prince/Poster Boy of a musical kingdom that has truly come into it's own. Indie!!! Though Pavement's final bow "Terror Twilight" is concrete proof of the Band's brilliance, it appears as though it will be their Swan Song.

Malk's virgin solo release proves that he's far from the twilight of his career and that Pavement is just the ground level or his talent. Before I abuse anymore terrible puns, let me announce that Stephen's self-titled debut is a big green patch of left field grass festooned with gems. What if you were to take the raw energy of Dinosaur Jr, the wacky charm of Weezer and mix it with the lyrical bite of Beck and the talkish delivery of Lou Reed, you'd just as confused as me. What if I throw in the merry abandon of the Meat Puppets? No? What I'm really trying to say is that it sounds just like Pavement. True. This is a nicely tailored record that solidifies Malkmus' claim to the Indie rock throne . . . Got Malk? How could I pass that one up?