Stephen Malkmus Shares New Solo Acoustic Rendering of “Solid Silk”: Watch

Only Stephen Malkmus could make mouth trumpeting sound like mature, meaningful art.

The former Pavement frontman perfects the horn-imitating technique during a new solo acoustic video of him performing “Solid Silk,” one of the standout tracks from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks’ latest album, Sparkle Hard. In the clip, which was released Thursday, Malkmus is armed with nothing but his voice, a 12-string guitar and the overflowing lyrical content of the very wordy “Solid Silk.” “Numbskull chip off of some old block / Dagger glances for the kid, he’s running off,” Malkmus sings. Watch the video, crunch on Malkmus’ perplexing lyrics and hear his DIY trumpet noises for yourself, below.

Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks also recently performed a full-band rendition of “Solid Silk” on CBS This Morning. The band’s seventh album, Sparkle Hard was released in May to the tune of critical acclaim—we at Paste appreciated the warm approachability of the group’s jaunty indie-rock flair.

Again, you can watch Malkmus jam it solo-style below, and you can revisit the Paste review of Sparkle Hard right here. Then get updated on all things Stephen Malkmus with our feature on the artist from May. Keep scrolling to hear Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks kick back in their Daytrotter session circa 2009, just a year after the release of Malkmus’ fourth album with the group, Real Emotional Trash.