Stephen Malkmus Is “Rushing the Acid Frat” in New Single/Video

Jicks ringleader and former Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus has returned with a new cut from his forthcoming foray into electronic music, Groove Denied, out March 15 on Matador Records. The song is called “Rushing the Acid Frat,” and it comes with a trippy new video that channels Yellow Submarine-era animated psychedelia.

“Rushing the Acid Frat” will sound much more familiar to Malkmus fans than the previous Groove Denied single “Viktor Borgia,” which saw him lean hard into the retro synth-pop sound. This time around, there are actually guitars present, and under all the synth wails and phasers is a pretty simple but catchy chord progression. Malkmus describes the song as a Star Wars bar scene in a Deadhead, tie-dye kind of fraternity.

The accompanying video was made by Robert Strange and James Papper. It features an animated Malkmus strolling through L.A.’s Koreatown and Hollywood Forever Cemetery before eventually winding up on the moon, then returning to Earth (specifically, Ben Kweller’s Texas ranch).

Malkmus is embarking on a quick solo tour behind Groove Denied at the end of the spring, to which he has just added new dates in New York and Chicago. The tour kicks off in New York on April 30 with a live conversation between Malkmus and Vanity Fair’s Michael Hogan.

Watch the “Rushing the Acid Frat” video (plus a 2009 Malkmus performance from the Paste archives) and check out his full list of tour dates below.

Stephen Malkmus Tour Dates:

April
30 – New York, N.Y. @ 92Y In-Conversation with Vanity Fair’s Michael Hogan

May
01 – Toronto, Ont. @ The Great Hall ^ #
02 – New York, N.Y. @ The Kitchen ^
03 – Somerville, Mass. @ Arts At The Armory ^ # – SOLD OUT
04 – Ardmore, Pa. @ Ardmore Music Hall ^ #
05 – Washington, D.C. @ Union Stage ^ #
07 – Austin, Texas @ 3TEN ACL Live ^
08 – Chicago, Ill. @ Art Institute Of Chicago – Fullerton Hall ^
10 – Portland, Ore. @ Doug Fir Lounge ^ – SOLD OUT
11 – Seattle, Wash. @ Columbia City Theater ^
14 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Swedish American Hall ^ %
15 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Lodge Room ^ % – SOLD OUT
16 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Lodge Room ^
30 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival *
31 – Nimes, France @ This Is Not A Love Song *

June
06-09 – Helsinki, Finland @ Sideways Festival *
14-16 – Mannheim, Germany @ Maifeld Derby Festival *
19 – Paris, France @ La Gaîté Lyrique *

(* denotes w/ The Jicks)
(^ denotes Malkmus solo)
(# denotes Eleanor Friedberger supporting)
(% denotes Mary Lattimore supporting)