Stephen Malkmus Shares “Xian Man,” Lead Single from New Album Traditional Techniques

Wednesday, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement fame announced his new album, Traditional Techniques. The album will mark his third full-length without his supporting band The Jicks. Malkmus also shared the album’s lead single “Xian Man” (pronounced like Christian) and announced a North American tour. Referred to as “new phase folk music for new phase folks,” the album reinterprets several acoustic instruments present at the Halfling Studio in Portland, including a variety of Afghani instruments. The album will feature such instruments as a 12-string guitar and a flute.

Across the album’s 10-song tracklist, Malkmus plays with several sounds, including the commune-rock sound of “Xian Man.” The song warbles and shakes with that ‘60s folk-rock sound of radicalism and community, with a fuzzy guitar solo and Malkmus’ instantly recognizable voice fighting itself for attention. The sound is crisp, with assistance across the entire album from Halfling engineer Chris Funk (of The Decemberists) and Matt Sweeney on guitar.

You can watch the lyric video for “Xian Man” (plus a 2009 Malkmus performance from the Paste archives) and see the details of Traditional Techniques below, as well as a list of Stephen Malkmus’s tour dates.