Stephen Malkmus goes for straight rock-n-roll on Real Emotional Trash and makes his most cohesive album to date. He keeps his quirkiness on the freewheeling “Dragonfly Pie” and the character driven “Hopscotch Willie.” During “Wicked Wanda,” Malkmus deadpans about a woman who has “no time to accommodate” over a futuristic organ, leaving one to wonder what else he still has up his sleeve.

 

-Shannon Carlin