Real Emotional Trash by SM & The Jicks

Yeah, I guess it goes without saying by now that I'd probably be a fan of Pavement's former lead singer. I respect what he's done in the past 3 albums because they all (for the most part) show a lot of growth, or at least some bravery/stupidity. If you love SM and his long guitar solos best, then you'll think Real Emotional Trash is the tits. He rips through trippy guitar parts and his usual mix of lyrical nonsense throughout the entire album. The only problem is that SM isn't at his usual lyrical brilliance. He trades out greatly written lyrics (within the context of the song) like "Watch out for the gypsy children in electric dresses they're insane/I hear they live in crematoriums and smoke your remains" for track titles like "Elmo Delmo". It's a bad/lazy habit SM has started since Face The Truth. It takes work to make nonsense "sound good", and SM fails a bit too much this time. Although he falters some lyrically his technical ability on guitar continues to grow. Extra points, also, for Janet Weiss' first appearance as a Jick. Just a shout out to da' indie kids.

RATING: 70%