n East Somerville, Massachusetts, there is a small shop that sells nothing but plywood. Today I had the good fortune of visiting this marvelous place. I started out walking at noon, with really no idea where I was going, only the address 24 Broadway, and the faith that these winding Indian-trails-turned-turnpikes would eventually direct me to my destination. What I failed to realize, of course, is that the Native Americans had no need for plywood, let alone an elaborate system of arteries to direct the wayward traveler to a source of such reconstructed lumber. Clearly, the chill winter air on my 5 mile, 2 hour hike had found its way into my brain... my thoughts were making no sense... and I was even hallucinating. Hell, at one point i was so far gone, I could have sworn my discman was singing to me about pirates, Yul Brynner, and other such nonsense.


Wait, no... I'm not insane, this song *is* about Yul Brynner... or so it would seem. Who is this? Where are the cryptic, Pavementy lyrics of yesteryear? Well, everywhere it seems... though these songs are apparently frank and easily accessible, the more you think about them, the less sense they make. Of course there are some gems, such as the line "all you ever wanted was everything plus everything plus the truth / but i only poured you half a lie" which speaks for itself.


As far as the music goes, it's a lot like plywood. Clearly Malkmus is well versed in all the varied styles of rock, and even a few styles of roll, but here it's all been compressed down to a thin sliver of itself... so it looks like rock and roll, smells and even sounds like rock and roll... but on the inside there's a little soul... it's 2-ply and the grain pattern runs perpendicular.


Of course, maybe this is what Malkmus was going for... in many cases plywood is a viable alternative to "real" wood... when you compress a tree into a 1/4th inch sheet, theres not much room for country-fried wankery or experimental sawdust. As a result, this album could be said to shave down rock and roll to its key elements, and flatten and harden it into something better and more efficient than it once was. Of course you could also say it removes all the endearing qualities of rock (such as raw volume, and inability to play ones instrument). But that would be as naive as assuming you could buy plywood in less than a 2 by 4 sheet.


To conclude, this album is either the best thing you've ever heard or utter shit. Either way, there are two song titles purposefully misspelled and the album contains some of the catchiest hooks this side of Siam. Take from that what you will.