Reviews of new pop, country/roots, jazz and classical releases.

Pop:

STEPHEN MALKMUS & THE JICKS "Pig Lib" (Matador, 3-{ stars)

Stephen Malkmus, jam-band guitar hero?

Yes, among other things. On his second solo album, the former Pavement front man and indie-rock crown prince known for inscrutable lyrics and slacker anthems has gone prog-rock. The opening "Water and a Seat" flaunts tricky time signatures, "1% of One" stretches to a Grateful Dead-style nine minutes, and the extended guitar solo on "Witch Mountain Bridge" sounds like prime English progressive folk, of the Richard Thompson-with-Fairport Convention variety.

Malkmus' wry detachment has often given way to laziness, but he has such a gift for melody that he can be captivating even when he sounds like he couldn't give a toss. Here, though, he perks up, as if he's actually considering taking this solo-career business seriously.

"Pig Lib" benefits greatly. You'll still have a hard time figuring out what he's singing about _ "Bob Packwood wants to suck your toes/It's a lovely, lovely way to go," he sings on "(Do Not Feed the) Oyster," and he gets off many a clever rhyme, along the lines of "he couldn't commit to/the mental jujitsu." But with tunes this challengingly knotty and breezily enchanting, who cares what they mean?

_Dan DeLuca