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Wig Out at Jagbags

Stephen Malkmus And The Jicks

Wig Out at Jagbags

Album No.6 from the Oregon indie rock quartet led by the onetime Pavement frontman, now relocated to Berlin

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Domino
UK Release date
06/01/2014
US Release date
07/01/2014
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  1. 9.0 |   All Music

    It feels looser than most of the Jicks records; the compositions are tight but the attitude is ragged, which winds up being more infectious and fun than albums where the songs drift but the instruments are tight
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  2. 8.3 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Warts and all, Jagbags is a good, not great album
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   Art Rocker

    It may be easier for Malkmus to falter back to sounds before - of which this album confides – however it is the moments when he presses forward to dangerous centrepieces that his welcome ‘wig outs’ take finest shape
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  4. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Ten years of fronting one of the greatest American bands of the Nineties hasn't left the man a complacent drudge but rather pushed him to do what Pavement never allowed
    Read Review

  5. 8.0 |   State

    Malkmus has managed to make the first great record of the year
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  6. 8.0 |   FasterLouder

    This is the sound of a successful, respected older man in a young man’s game: someone who feels the earth shifting under his feet and doesn’t know what it means, but knows that it’s probably not gonna stop anytime soon
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  7. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    Even with brass embellishments lending an air of overt politeness to proceedings, Wig Out is both slanted and enchanted enough to goof its way into your heart
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  8. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Boasts a lightness of touch, a torrent of hooks and a playful demeanour. Print edition only

  9. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    This terrifically varied record will rekindle your love of guitar pop amid the dull extant scene
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  10. 8.0 |   DIY

    Pop-rock deconstructionist, art-rock godfather, Portland father and family man: all these elements come through here and it makes this album a triumph
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  11. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Presents Malkmus at his most eager to please
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  12. 8.0 |   musicOMH

    This is the album that any Malkmus aficionado would hope for
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  13. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Pretty much everything we could have hoped for from Stephen Malkmus at this point in his career
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  14. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    He whips up song structures that give him room to indulge his taste for hazy, cosmic jive, sardonic wit and unabashed guitar beauty
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  15. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    Most of the songs clocking in at around three minutes, but leaving enough room for the requisite snaking guitar lines that hover over the vocals
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  16. 7.5 |   Paste Magazine

    Won’t likely endear him to many newer listeners. But for those who are of the same disposition, this ain’t a bad place to be
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  17. 7.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Jagbags has the overarching feel of a party full of nostalgia-tripping friends reunited as adults who no longer have the energy nor desire for serious conversation — they’re just happy to be here
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  18. 7.0 |   The 405

    Malkmus' name is now pretty much a byword for indie rock reliability; given that his approach is relatively unusual, that's by no means a bad thing
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  19. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks fifth release is, of course, brilliant
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  20. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    Jagbags might suffer from a mild case of "the mids"—mid-paced, middle-aged, and (at times) middle-of-the-road—but there is still much to enjoy here
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  21. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    At the heart of his music is still an inimitable bittersweetness—the light shrug that follows the realization that in time all things will die and pass
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  22. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    On the whole, Wig Out at Jagbags strikes a good balance between a little bit of Malkmus being Malkmus and just enough of him letting his guard down
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  23. 7.0 |   NME

    The sound of a man who finally has enough distance - geographically, psychologically - for nostalgia
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  24. 7.0 |   Spin

    Like its predecessors, Jagbags feels casual in a way that Malkmus' old band, for all the slacker clichés lobbed lazily their way, were too young and too committed to finding their place in the world to risk
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  25. 7.0 |   The Fly

    [It] might lack the edginess of twenty years ago, but it still serves as an enjoyable platform for Malkmus’ singular songwriting talent
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  26. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Although often sounding as if it was made by stoned, alt-rock hipster dads jamming in a garage, this album's finer moments come from its moments of slacker soul
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  27. 6.0 |   The List

    Ultimately, Malkmus doesn’t want to upset anyone: his aim is to jovially worm his way into your affections. A little sprinkling of true grit next time might do the trick
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  28. 6.0 |   Q

    Like its immediate predecessors, this sixth album has a cosy, parochial feel, but it also has a good bit of Pavement's sun-kissed levity. Print edition only

  29. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    Isn't the jam-band bugaboo that disgruntled Pavement fans feared most, nor is it the return to angular art-rock bliss many hoped for. It's an uneasy détente in the continuing conflict between its creator's best and worst impulses
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  30. 5.0 |   No Ripcord

    See review
    Read Review

  31. 4.0 |   The Quietus

    We know he's better than this – we've heard the evidence! C'mon Malkmus, TRY HARDER DAMNIT! TRY!
    Read Review

  32. 4.0 |   The Independent

    With Beck no longer at the desk, Wig Out at Jagbags finds him reverting to type, with wilfully obtuse sonic strategies that strive to wrong-foot even the most devoted listener
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