After Pavement announced they were going on hiatus at the end of 1999, the status of one of America's finest indie rock bands was a mystery for the first half of 2000. It became clearer that summer, however, when it was revealed that both singer/songwriter/guitarists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg were preparing solo albums. Malkmus was particularly busy during that time, performing new songs with Kim's Bedroom -- a one-off group that also included Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Jim O'Rourke -- that spring in Holland and recording them at studios near his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Working with him were the Jicks, aka Portland indie rock veterans drummer/percussionist John Moen and bassist Joanna Bolme. Moen had played with the Fastbacks, the Dharma Bums, and his own group, the Maroons; Bolme played with the Minders and worked as an engineer at ~Jackpot Studios, where Pavement's Terror Twilight was demoed and parts of Malkmus' new project were recorded. Initially, Malkmus intended to release the album on his own or through a local label, but when his old label, Matador, received a copy, they agreed to release it. By the time Malkmus officially confirmed Pavement's breakup in the November 2000 issue of ~Spin magazine, Matador announced it was releasing the album -- originally titled Swedish Reggae and then changed to Stephen Malkmus -- in winter 2001. The Jicks made their live debut that January at New York's ~Bowery Ballroom and spent the rest of the winter and spring touring the U.K. and the U.S., including a gig at ~South by Southwest with labelmates Mogwai and the reunited Soft Boys. Former Pavement percussionist Bob Nastanovich acted as the Jicks' tour manager and Elastica leader Justine Frischmann -- another friend of Malkmus -- joined the band as a guitarist for selected dates. On 2003's darker, trippier Pig Lib, the Jicks shared credit with Malkmus, reflecting the album's more band-like feel. Released in 2005, Face the Truth -- on which Malkmus embraced domesticity with a whimsical feel missing from his work since Wowee Zowee -- featured Malkmus with and without the Jicks, who also supported him on tour that summer. On 2008's Real Emotional Trash, the Jicks welcomed former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss into their fold, giving the album's psychedelic free-for-alls greater heft. Mirror Traffic followed in 2011, featuring Beck stepping in as producer and Weiss taking her last bow as the Jicks' drummer.

~ Heather Phares, Rovi