[1][2] Malkmus conceived the idea for Traditional Techniques during the recording of Sparkle Hard.

[3] According to a press release, the concept gained traction and became a fully realized album in a matter of weeks.

The album was produced by Chris Funk of The Decemberists and features guitarist Matt Sweeney and musician Qais Essar.

[6] Writing for Loud and Quiet, Sam Walton gave the album a positive review, praising it as "an expertly written and performed exploration of muted psych-rock and various strands of folk music".

[11] Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honorable mention in his "Consumer Guide" column, highlighting the songs "Xian Man" and "Cash Up" while writing in summation: "It’s more than cool, as it had better be, that he’s matured from willfully acerbic to willingly pretty, but he’s too smart not to know in the heart he’s proud to have that while acerbic feeds on chaos, pretty is better off explaining itself".