Stephen Malkmus new album, Groove Denied, has some weird and cool electro-pop leanings, but its also got a handful of the chill guitar jams the former Pavement frontman is best known for. Rushing the Acid Frat is one of the best songs in the latter category, and now its got a trippy animated music video directed by Robert Strange of indie-pop group Superorganism.
Malkmus has said that Rushing the Acid Frat is based, in part, on a specific Deadhead-friendly frat he recalls from his undergrad days at the University of Virginia. I was imagining a fraternity where they just take acid all the time, he recently told RS. Thats what Louie Louie would sound like to those guys, if youre having a bad trip or something.
In the video, a squiggly Malkmus toon ambles through Los Angeles before finding himself on the moon, while an Exploding Plastic Inevitable-type psychedelic projection unfolds behind him. Far-out!
Groove Denied is out March 15th. The singer will mount a solo tour for the album later this spring.
Stephen Malkmus Tour Dates
May 1 Toronto ON @ The Great Hall ^ #
May 2 New York NY @ The Kitchen ^
May 3 Somerville MA @ Arts At The Armory ^ #
May 4 Ardmore PA @ Ardmore Music Hall ^ #
May 5 Washington DC @ Union Stage ^ #
May 7 Austin TX @ 3TEN ACL Live ^
May 8 Chicago IL @ Art Institute Of Chicago Fullerton Hall ^
May 10 Portland OR @ Doug Fir Lounge ^
May 11 Seattle WA @ Columbia City Theater ^
May 14 San Francisco CA @ Swedish American Hall ^ %
May 15 Los Angeles CA @ Lodge Room ^ %
May 16 Los Angeles CA @ Lodge Room ^
May 30 Barcelona ES @ Primavera Festival *
May 31 Nimes FR @ This Is Not A Love Song *
June 6-9 Helsinki FI @ Sideways Festival *
June 14-16 Mannheim DE @Maifeld Derby Festival *
June 19 Paris FR @ La Gat Lyrique *
* Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
^ Stephen Malkmus solo
# Eleanor Friedberger supporting
% Mary Lattimore supporting