Fell For A Singer With A Dead Eye Drawl

The Hard Quartet “Six Deaf Rats”

I’ve been enjoying The Hard Quartet’s debut record, but was having trouble digesting it as anything more than a late-period Stephen Malkmus album that happened to include some other songs by Matt Sweeney and Emmett Kelly. Seeing the band perform at Webster Hall last night made it all click into focus for me, certainly on a formal level.

Malkmus, Sweeney, and Kelly trade instruments constantly, each getting a few turns as bassist, rhythm guitarist, or lead guitarist. As with The Smile, they all seemed delighted to get a chance to be the bass player, and Malkmus in particular was very interesting in that role. I recall some very busy melodic bass lines in the tradition of Paul McCartney or James Jamerson, but with his characteristic relaxed, slack physicality rather than their bold, assertive playing. In terms of guitar, there’s nothing too surprising from Sweeney or Malkmus, but I like the way Kelly’s bright leads and Byrds/R.E.M.-ish jangle constrasts with Malkmus’ approach. I can see what these guys are getting from playing with each other, and how a lot of these songs emerged from this particular set of players.

The key thing is Jim White’s drumming. Malkmus has never worked with a drummer who plays like him, more focused on creating ambience and building drama than holding down a steady 4/4. This band is a little out of White’s comfort zone too, much more of a regular rock group than his more typical avant lane. The most exciting and interesting moments come when either White makes atypical rhythmic choices in fairly straight ahead rock songs, or when Malkmus opens up space in his songs to let White create a little jazzy storm he can play around.

“Six Deaf Rats,” which going on audience response is most everyone’s favorite song on the record, is in the latter category. It’s very much a late period Malkmus sort of song both musically and lyrically, but White’s percussion gives it a completely different feel. I love all of Malkmus’ records, but White’s style makes me realize how tight Wig-Out At Jagbags and Sparkle Hard could get. This isn’t a complaint – part of why I love following Malkmus through the years is hearing him change – but White allows for a type of looseness that connects Malkmus with his looseness without dialing his progress and proficiency all the way back to Pavement era.

Towards the end of “Six Deaf Rats,” Malkmus sings the line “I’ll geek out on your amazing quirks.” This tickles me, becuase I can’t think of a better way to describe my relationship with his music since I was 13. I just never get sick of this guy’s amazing quirks.

Buy it from Bandcamp.