- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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SpinPig Lib is both the loopiest music Malkmus has ever made and the most direct. [Apr 2003, p.104]
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Pig Lib accomplishes what no punk-schooled fan would think possible: It makes prog-rock cool.
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The man has an uncanny ability to transliterate the sounds only record collectors can hear--early Thin Lizzy, for instance --into a passionate ache anyone can love.
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Malkmus' songwriting is back from blandland, the backing Jicks rock, and the production got it all on tape without screwing it up.
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It wildly exceeds the expectations generated by Malkmuss first solo shot.
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What makes these songs really special is their ability to maintain a pop coherency, whilst being genuinely quirky and experimental.
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MojoPig Lib is full of as many little mysteries as it is revelations. [Apr 2003, p.91]
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UncutThe second solo album still sounds like a wilful jukebox stocked on the disparate taste of someone attempting vinyl hari-kari. [Apr 2003, p.116]
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Alternative PressFinally makes good on Malkmus' claims of musical maturity. [Apr 2003, p.80]
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It's as much the arrival of The Jicks as it is the rebirth of Stephen Malkmus: The band has become a grounding force he can push and pull from, a safety net allowing him to take risks.
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A return to form: no tongue-in-cheek pop motifs, but a welcome re-embracing of the mid-American rock that always informed Pavement's more enlightening, abstruse moments.
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The chaos occasionally bleeds into the music itself, but while Pig Lib may initially sound thornier than its immediately welcoming predecessor, it grows more inviting with each listen.
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Pig Lib is the kind of album you think about even when it's not on, that slowly develops for you and creates synapses and connections that maybe Malkmus never intended.
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Sprawls in all directions, effortlessly spanning the gap between breezy pop and hard rock.
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BlenderThey've made a great record of choogling and--surprisingly for the wonky Malkmus--tender tunes. [Apr 2003, p.125]
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Pig Lib is Malkmus' loosest set of songs ever, an elegantly meandering head trip underpinned by the kind of tuneful, world-wise romanticism that's won him the hearts of English majors everywhere.
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Our adult Malkmus is less prone to toss off a half-finished rough gem and more likely to polish and polish until things are a little too shiny.
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Luckily, his affable spunk grounds much of the exploration, yet, at some point, the line between circumstance and good songwriting becomes suspiciously blurred.
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The WireA natural follow-up to his first solo outing. [#229, p.68]
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The songwriter's fondness of esoterica makes "Pig Lib" a trying listen; even the song titles can elicit an eye roll.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 27
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Mixed: 1 out of 27
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Negative: 2 out of 27
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dancMay 15, 2003love every minute of it!! Saw them @ Irving Plaza, so tight and into it...It was great!
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bjorkbollApr 20, 2003Better than his solo debut, but lacking some of Pavements unpredictability.
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xPhApr 11, 2003Pig Lib only has to spin four times before it burn a hole in your head and heart.