Pavement Singer Wraps Up Solo Debut

Former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus will reemerge around Valentine's Day with the release of his first solo album. Although Pavement have not officially called it quits, "It's as official as it'll ever be," says a Matador Records spokesperson.

Slated for a February 13, 2001 release on Matador Records, the fourteen-track album was initially titled "Swedish Reggae," but that name has since been retracted with a new one to come shortly. In a Ramones-y move, Malkmus and his new players (bassist Joanna Bolme and sometime Fastbacks drummer John Moen) each adopted the surname "Jick" and were in fact at one point calling the band "The Jicks," though officials at Matador assure us that the record will be released under Malkmus' name alone. The album was recorded in Malkmus' current hometown of Portland, Ore., at Supernatural Sound with the singer/guitarist himself handling all production duties and Jeff Saltzman (Sunset Valley, King Black Acid, Orange Peels) engineering.

"It's definitely Pavement-y," says the Matador spokesperson. "'Looser' is a good word for it. It's not a country record, it's not a singer-songwriter record, it's not a Scandinavian reggae record. There's some stuff that's goofier and funner than Pavement stuff and some stuff that's a lot more touching or moving than Pavement stuff."

As for the oft-discussed but never seen Pavement DVD video compilation, Slow Century, the spokesperson claims that particular gem's been placed on indefinite hold with no official release date in sight.

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