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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Face The Truth
by Stephen Malkmus


8.5

based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 33 votes
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Rate this album

Malkmus' third post-Pavement recording is his most "solo" effort to date (not to mention his weirdest), with only some of the songs featuring the full complement of Jicks backing him up.

LABEL:	Matador
RELEASE DATE:	24 May 2005
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Lost At Sea

It’s weird, (but not annoyingly so), it’s catchy (but not annoyingly so), and it’s fresh (but not annoyingly so). Face the Truth is the work of a songwriter at his finest hour.

Dusted Magazine

Malkmus has the same fractured pop sensibility, but his music is more expansive than it’s been before.

Delusions of Adequacy

An excellent album graced by the kind of clever hooks, lines, and sinkers that color Malkmus’ best work, be it with Pavement or the Jicks.

No Ripcord

Face the Truth is probably the most eclectic of all Malkmus’s work. There are elements of every Pavement album in amongst the tracks, with familiar noodly guitar intros, shouty, jaunty refrains and languid deadpan-rap segments.

All Music Guide

A vibrant return to form... thrilling and rewarding.

Pitchfork

Behind this happy clash of stylistic preferences is a subtly but surely revivified Malkmus, confident to experiment more deliberately than ever.

Filter

Of the three Stephen Malkmus solo albums, this is the one that sounds the most like Pavement. [#15, p.91]

Stylus Magazine

With the Fiery Furnaces bringing indie-prog rigmarole back in fashion, Face The Truth might get a little more love than Pig Lib did, despite being the same album with a few more fart sounds.

Village Voice (Consumer Guide)

Consistently enjoyable, predictably inconsequential.

Entertainment Weekly

It's weird, yes, but in a good way. [3 Jun 2005, p.82]

Prefix Magazine

Gone are the spotty moments that marred his previous solo work. Most important, Malkmus seems to be having fun again.

New York Magazine

The songs, which have the choppy angles and elegant dissonance of Pavement’s, are painstakingly layered with keyboards and all manner of funky blurps and beeps. It all sounds very labor-intensive—and pretty smart, too.

Playlouder

Malkmus seems to be firing on all cylinders for the first time as a solo artist.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Malkmus has long made a game of languishing, but he now sounds refreshingly eager to turn off the scoreboard and let his songs coach themselves.

Uncut

The confidence and unforced vigour of Face The Truth suggest Malkmus is happier on the margins of alt.rock than in its spotlight. [Jun 2005, p.112]

cokemachineglow

He’s back in the groove here: relaxed, confident, weird in his own special way, smart, and ready to make great albums again.

Blender

Blend[s] limpid Velvet Underground textures, strolling country-rock and wry, cryptically plaintive Malkmus poetry well enough to sound like neo-classics destined for a Wes Anderson film. [Jun 2005, p.111]

Tiny Mix Tapes

Face the Truth won me over by showing all the sides of Steve that drew me to him in the first place, along with a few new surprises.

musicOMH.com

Pig Lib Part Two? Maybe so, but there are enough subtle evolutions here to keep any SM follower listening intently until the cows come home.

Spin

For good and ill, this jumble couldn't come from anyone but Malkmus. [Jun 2005, p.104]

ShakingThrough.net

Face the Truth is paradoxically the most intriguing Malkmus album and the weakest of his post-Pavement career.

Rolling Stone

His weirdest yet.

Q Magazine

Stuffed with little revelations. [Jun 2005, p.113]

Mojo

Typically, there are also infuriating moments... but overall, this marks a welcome return to form. [Jun 2005, p.106]

Junkmedia

Is Malkmus treading water? Well, maybe. But despite the complaints of those fans who can’t let Pavement go, he’s still making valid, adventurous and - most of all - fun music.

Under The Radar

The album lacks a unifying thread, either sonically or thematicallly. [#10, p.112]

Magnet

Too stylistically diverse, willfully weird and lyrically cryptic to be anything more than an acquired taste. [#68, p.101]

PopMatters

If it's not a leap in the right direction, it's at least a big step.

Alternative Press

May be the weirdest record Malkmus has made since Pavement's Wowee Zowee. [Jul 2005, p.174]

Splendid

While Face The Truth rarely presents a side of its creator that has not already been seen, loved, and cried over, it's a passable, even better-than-average album.

The Guardian

It's easy to boggle at but less easy to love, since there's nowhere to hang your critical hat for longer than about three bars at a time.

New Musical Express

Does a new generation of music lovers really need a third solo album from [Malkmus] which includes songs that house guitar wig-outs and last up to eight minutes? Not really. [28 May 2005, p.64]

The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Peter K. gave it a7:
The hooks could be larger, but they're still large and I enjoy his aesthetic (distorted guitars, screwed up lyrics, and blips and bleeps a plenty.)

Andrew E gave it a10:
In a weird way, I like this more than slanted and enchanted. I can't go crazy critical right now, but, certainly, the critics are reaching too far. This is the best solo album for sure.

Ryan L gave it a9:
Hooks out the wazoo -- worth it if only for the fact that it'll be stuck in your head for weeks.

najeeb a gave it a10:
Those fans that claim to be true followers, but do not appreciate this album, obviously aren't his true followers. This is Malkmus at his best, it's most reminiscent of Pavement, but only in that it's ambitious, carefree, pretentious, and weirdly experimental. it's poppy and perfect, exactly what us true fans have been waiting for him to put out as a solo artist.

Steven L gave it a9:
I really didn't like this album too much at first, but it really grew on me. One of my favorite releases this year, for sure. Pity it's getting such low ratings, it is a fantastic album.

Jason C gave it a9:
Loved the previous solo efforts. This one may be the best, but who cares if it is, it is just good music. SM brings it everytime. No clunkers.

christopher h gave it a9:
malkmus soloing hist heart out, i can only hope for more.

Face The Truth by Stephen Malkmus

Face The Truth
by Stephen Malkmus